Til the Sky Turned Blue Book V
by Jennifoofighter
Summary: A fork in the road. Warning: This Book is notoriously known as the toughest one to read but I promise that if you push through, Book VI will make up for it. This is an MS fic, I promise.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the same fic I posted long ago. I just fixed the format and there is no way to do that without making it look like an update. Thanks. **

TITLE: 'Til the Sky Turned Blue – Book V of VI

AUTHOR: Jennifoofighter

RATING: PG

KEYWORDS: MS, JS, M/OC, D/OC, VM, and friendship all around.

SPOILERS/TIMELINE: Post 'End Game'

ARCHIVE: This is a work-in-progress so do not archive until it is complete. I am sure I'll be messing with certain parts as the story progresses.

DISCLAIMER: Hank and Co. own everything _Without a Trace_. No copyright infringement is intended ...yada, yada, yada, I get nothing but the satisfaction of having them do what I want if only for a little while.

NOTE: Thank you Pru for the 'Book' idea. It makes it much easier to organize.

SPECIAL THANKS: Sammy and Broni, Thank you for the reviews, the constructive criticism, and most of all, the encouragement to actually post it. You guys rock.

AUTHORS NOTE: I am asking you to take a journey with me. For some it might be a bumpy ride but I promise that you will be very happy once we arrive at the final destination.

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"_It breaks your heart to see the one you love happy with someone else, but it's more painful to know that the one you love was unhappy with you." - Unknown_

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Sam was standing in front of her vanity mirror applying her foundation when she heard a knock on her door. She glanced at her watch and cursed that David was early for their second date. She did a quick cursory application and rushed to answer her door, grateful that she had already put on her dress. She smiled her best smile and opened the door only to find Martin standing on the other side.

"Hi," he greeted her. He had a five o'clock shadow and was wearing faded blue jeans and a fleece jacket. She immediately hated him even more for showing up at her door looking so sexy.

She allowed herself to breathe before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" he asked as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets.

She crossed her arms and replied, "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm actually expecting someone any minute."

Martin nodded as if he was expecting that response. "I was just hoping I could talk to you before work tomorrow."

"About what, being a complete jackass?" she asked with a voice tinged with bitterness.

He bit his lip before softly saying, "I deserve that. I know I was a real jerk…."

"Jack ass," she corrected.

"I'm trying to apologize, Sam." He had a look of sincerity in his eyes and although she felt guilty about her comment she made no indication. "I just want to know that we are going to be able to work together again. Things were good before I left and I'd like to know that we can move past what happened on Christmas."

Sam shook her head and said, "Martin, you keep saying that you want us to be friends but then you go and give me a gift that, no matter what you say, was all about us being lovers." She sighed and continued, "I feel like just when I am going to be okay you go and do something like that and I end up getting hurt all over again. If that's your idea of friendship I just don't know if I can take it."

"You're right: the gift did mean more. I had ordered it before I broke it off. I wasn't sure if I should give it to you after all that happened but I wanted you to have it." Martin looked at her with sad eyes and finished, "Maybe it was a mistake."

Something inside of her cracked. "No, it wasn't. I love it and I'm glad you even thought to give it to me at all." She paused and added quietly, "It's just that this is really hard Martin. I'm trying to move on, I am."

He gestured to her dress and said, "I can see that."

Sam looked down at her outfit. She had actually forgotten about her date with David. "Oh, yeah, right."

"I know that it was wrong of me to agree to start up again and then end it the way I did. I will regret hurting you for the rest of my life. You deserve better and I hope you find it," he said quietly. He gave her an earnest look and continued, "But you were more than just a girlfriend or lover; you are my best friend, Sam. I just pray that our friendship is still salvageable. I'm not asking you to forgive me and forget everything that happened. I know that is too much to ask, but I hope that someday it will be possible for us to be friends again."

She just stood there and looked at him before quietly answering, "I want that too but I'm not ready yet."

"I can wait."

She nodded her head and said, "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Martin gave her a small smile, stepped back and replied, "Yeah, tomorrow. Have a nice night."

Sam watched as he turned and walked to the stairwell. As soon as he was out of sight she took a deep breath and closed the door so she could finish getting ready for her date.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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Martin sat on the sofa and glanced around the office. It was early in the morning and the sunlight made everything in the room seem pink and soft. It was easier to meet with Lisa Harris before work since time seemed to get away from him as the day wore on.

He eyed the bouquet of red roses on Lisa's desk and wondered who sent her flowers for St. Valentine's Day. While she knew a lot about him he knew very little about her. He knew she wasn't married but that didn't mean she didn't have someone in her life. He wasn't married either but he had Ruby.

Ruby had called him late last night to thank him for the roses he had sent. They both lamented the fact that neither one of them could get away from work so they could celebrate the holiday together but they made plans to have dinner when he flew down to Washington later this month.

Lisa finished her phone call and came around her desk to take a seat opposite of him. "I'm sorry about that but I had to take that call." As she got comfortable in the seat she pulled out her notepad and asked, "How are things?"

"Good," Martin began. He looked down to stare at his hands for no other reason than to give him something to focus on. "I talked to Danny about the shooting."

"How did it go?" she asked in her usual calm neutral tone. It never failed to impress him that she was always composed and professional no matter what time of day they met.

"He told me he thinks I should be happy that I don't remember anything." Martin looked up at Lisa and finished, "He said he wished that he could forget it."

She nodded her head, leaned back in her chair and asked, "Can you tell me what he told you specifically?"

He swallowed. "Why? I'm sure I won't be telling you anything different from what Danny told you himself."

"I'd like to hear it from you," she replied.

Martin nodded his head and began.

XXX

"_Come on!" Danny shouted at the television as the Knicks were getting their asses kicked by the Lakers. _

_Martin just sat back on his sofa and laughed at how riled up the Latino agent was getting. He took a long drink of his beer and tried to think of the best way to broach the subject of the shooting. He had purposely invited him over tonight so they could discuss it – not that Danny knew that. _

_As the game cut to commercial Danny leaned back, took a drink of his soda and said, "I cannot believe Hardaway missed that shot."_

"_Yeah," Martin replied noncommittally. _

"_What' s up with you? You invited me over but you're not even watching the game," Danny asked suspiciously. _

_He looked at his now empty beer bottle before turning to look at his friend. He cleared his throat and asked, "I was wondering if you could tell me about that night; the night of the shooting."_

_Martin noticed that Danny's face went blank before he turned to look at the television. His knee started bouncing up and down before he asked, "Why do you want to know?"_

"_I need to know. I hate that I don't remember anything. I was involved in an event that changed my whole life and I can only read about it in case reports." Martin swallowed and continued, "I just think I'd feel better to know, to know the stuff that isn't in the reports. And you are the only one who was there."_

_He could see Danny working his jaw, considering. A little later he softly began, "It happened really fast. I had just gotten off the phone with Jack and there was a dark blue van in front of us. The light turned green but they didn't move so you honked the horn to try and get them to move. We were in a good mood that Viv was going to be okay. I even told you, 'At least we're ending the day on an up note.' Then Dornvald and Jamal jumped out of the back of the van."_

_Danny paused and took a drink of his soda. Martin noticed that he looked extremely uncomfortable and said, "I'm sorry, I totally sprung this on you. If you don't want to…"_

"_No, you're right. You should know." Danny looked at Martin and their eyes met in mutual understanding. He turned back to face the TV but not really watching as he continued, "It was so loud between the gunfire and glass shattering. I shouted 'Get down!' as soon as they started shooting and felt a pain in my shoulder. You must have been hit at the same time because immediately after you slumped down on top of me. I knew I couldn't get out of the car to shoot back so instead I pressed down on your leg so your foot would hit the gas. I was hoping to hit them with the car or at least get us out of the way. But you were slouched against the steering wheel and it made us turn and head to the intersection where we hit the SUV._

"_I heard tires screeching and by the time I was able to move out from under you they were half-way down the street. I gave chase but it was hopeless. I shouted orders to the SUV driver we hit to call for an ambulance. When I got back to the car you were covered in blood but your eyes open and you were having difficulty breathing." Danny swallowed and sighed. "I got you out of your seatbelt but your leg was wedged under the steering wheel so I couldn't move you. I panicked. I just wanted to get you out of the car." He gave a humorless laugh. "A civilian actually had to remind me to try and stop your bleeding and wait for the paramedics. So using a jacket I pressed hard on your chest wound and prayed for the bleeding to stop."_

_Martin just looked at Danny, his heart racing and anxiety building. _

"_The look on your face, man, you just kept looking at me to do something, to help you, but there was nothing I could do but try and stop the bleeding. I kept telling you that you were going to be fine and to hang on." Danny turned and looked at Martin as he said, "You looked at me for like a split second before you shut your eyes. That's it. That's everything."_

_He swallowed and nodded his head. He brought the beer bottle to his lips to take a drink when he remembered that it was empty. He put the bottle on the coffee table and softly said, "Thanks for telling me. I know it wasn't easy." _

_Danny exhaled audibly and said, "Martin, I can't imagine how you feel waking up after losing two months but believe me, it is a blessing that you don't remember that night. I would give anything to forget it." _

_The two men's eyes met in understanding and he couldn't help but think that maybe Danny was right. _

XXX

"Do you feel better knowing the personal version of events from Danny?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know. I feel bad for him more than anything else," Martin commented. "I don't know how he manages to be so cheerful after all that happened. I envy him for that."

"We all have our coping methods, Martin." Lisa said as she leaned forward in her chair. "I'm sure Danny has his days just like everyone else. It's great that you were able to talk to him. I really think it is a step in the right direction."

"I don't know about that, I actually feel worse for having found out all the details. I honestly didn't think it would feel like this," Martin replied lamely.

Lisa smiled and said, "I know it doesn't feel like it now but believe me: that is progress."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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The hotel clerk had spotted her as soon as she walked into the lobby. It was hard to miss a tall, sexy, blonde woman. She walked with confidence straight towards the check-in desk. She was accompanied by the bellboy who clearly noticed how attractive she was as well. She wore a dress that clung to her hips in all the right places and judging by the way she walked and glanced around the lobby he could immediately tell that she was more than a beautiful woman, she was also extremely intelligent. The perfect heady combination that made men fall to their knees with desire as well intimidation.

"Welcome to the Ritz-Carlton, I'm Timothy. How may I assist you?" He smiled widely as he mentally traced all of her features to use for his own nefarious reasons later tonight.

"Hello, I'd like to check-in," she said with a seductive grin.

She was so close that he could see a few freckles on her face that her foundation could not conceal. He swallowed and asked, "Do you have a reservation?"

"There should be a reservation under the name Samantha Spade," she replied as she pulled a wallet out of her purse and removed a platinum VISA card. She slid the card across the counter and he noticed her immaculately beautiful French manicured nails.

He typed her name into their database and located her reservation. "I have you down as requesting a suite overlooking the park. Is that correct?"

"Yes." She smiled.

Timothy quickly processed her paperwork and handed her a keycard. "Carlos will take you up to your room and I hope you enjoy your stay with us."

She smiled and replied, "I intend to."

Carlos led her to the elevator and after they boarded and the doors closed Timothy released the breath he had been holding in. He couldn't help but wish that he could be with a woman like that.

XXXX

Jack sat at his desk reading through the reports from the latest case the team just wrapped up. He had to admit that Paul Turner took impeccable notes. Turner had only been on the team for about three months but he was proving to be a valuable asset. It took some finagling but he was able to convince Van Doren to fund an additional line for his team so that he could not only keep Viv on desk duty but get another agent to work in the field.

Despite Viv's diagnosis she was doing remarkably well. There were days when she tired easily but being on desk duty for the most part agreed with her. Although, there were also days when she could be snappy and moody but that could be said for the rest of the team as well.

He finished reading the report, signed off on it and tossed it on the desk. He got up from his chair and stretched. He glanced at his watch and decided that he had been here long enough; time to head home for the night. He began gathering his things when Peter Crawford, who supervised a team in VCU, knocked on his door.

"Good you're here," Peter said as he entered without asking. "I have to talk to you Jack."

"Hey, what's up?" Jack replied as he put on his jacket.

"I don't know how to say this but to just come out and ask. When was the last time you saw Agent Spade?" Peter asked in a low, serious voice.

"A few hours ago. Why?" He asked, his voice a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.

Peter sighed and said, "I just got a call on a case. A blonde woman was found murdered at the Ritz-Carlton." He licked his lips before he added, "Jack, her name was Samantha Spade."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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"You've reached Special Agent Samantha Spade. Please leave a message…." Jack cursed and clicked off the phone as Peter parked the car in front of the hotel. He had been trying to reach Sam for the last twenty minutes with no luck. He was certain that the murdered woman couldn't possibly be Sam. It just couldn't. But why in the hell wasn't she answering her cell phone!

He was tempted to call someone from the team to go to her apartment to see if she was there but he thought it might be best to wait and see whose body was lying in the hotel suite. The hotel where this supposed 'Samantha Spade' was found was another reason he was sure it couldn't be Sam. There was no way she would stay in a five-star hotel suite in the same city where she lived. It was too ridiculous. But then again she was seeing some new guy named Seth and he might have planned it as a little mini-getaway. But what couple does something like that on a random Wednesday in the middle of April?

The street in front of the hotel was lined with police cars, news crews and a crime scene van. And, of course, the ubiquitous crowd of onlookers. Peter and Jack made their way past the crowd and into the hotel. Jack spotted some officers talking to the manager and a hotel clerk.

As they neared the elevator they flashed their badges so the two uniformed police officers would let them pass. Once inside, Peter turned to Jack and said, "If you want, I can go in first and see if it's her."

Jack shook his head and adamantly replied, "No, she's my agent."

Peter rested his hands on his hips and said, "Jack, I know the two of you were close, if it is her it might be easier…"

"I don't think it is her but either way, I would still want to see for myself," Jack answered brusquely.

The two men stood in silence until the elevator stopped on the park suite floor. As soon as they exited two NYPD detectives approached them.

"Are you the feds?" The short Latino agent asked. He had a dark complexion, big buggy eyes and a crew cut.

"I'm Special Agent Peter Crawford from VCU and this is Special Agent Jack Malone, Missing Persons," Peter introduced as they continued walking to the suite at the far end of the hall where all the activity was centered.

"I'm Detective Garcia and this is Detective Hopper. Hopper is the one who recognized the MO and said we should call you guys. He used to work homicide in D.C." Garcia spoke quickly as he motioned to Hopper, a tall, lanky man with pale blonde hair and acne scars.

"What can you tell us Hopper?" Peter asked.

"It was right before I transferred to New York. A young woman was found murdered in an expensive hotel room. She was tied up, gagged and sexually assaulted. After he raped her, he strangled her until she lost consciousness. He put make-up on her face so she would look almost comical. Then he waited. When she regained consciousness he slowly made cuts all over her body. Not deep enough to kill, just enough to cause pain. Once he was done playing games with her, he slashed her wrists and she bled to death."

The men reached the door to the suite and Jack's stomach clenched. He was so afraid of what he might find on the other side of the door. He took a deep breath and walked to the bedroom all the sounds around him faded into white noise. His feet feeling like they were weighted down like sand bags with each tentative step.

He looked inside the bedroom and as soon as some of the crime scene investigators moved aside he was able to see a nude woman spread eagle on a bed covered in cuts and blood. It was hard to tell with all the damage inflicted on her body but it did look a lot like Sam. She was pale with freckles and she had long straight blonde hair. He couldn't see her face; it was turned towards the window. He slowly moved around the bed and as he rounded the corner he took another deep breath before looking up to make a positive ID. He recognized her immediately and felt his knees sway a little when he heard someone say his name.

"Jack?" He looked up and saw Martin standing in the doorway looking nervous and scared. Martin spoke again, his voice cracking, "Is it……is it Sam?"

Jack exhaled and quietly replied, "No. No, it isn't her."

He saw a wave of relief cross the younger agent's face. He knew that Martin would have been just as, if not more, devastated if it had been Sam.

Martin sighed audibly, looked up and whispered softly, "Thank you God." Then he looked back over at Jack and said, "That look on your face…I thought you recognized her."

Jack cleared his throat and said, "That's because I do. It's Teri Fuller."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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"Teri Fuller?" Martin asked as he walked around to stand next to Jack. He looked at the face of the woman lying in the bed. The last time he saw a photo of Teri she was sixteen years old with curly hair. The woman before him looked kind of like her but it was hard to tell with the colored blonde hair, garish blue eye shadow and bright red lipstick. It was also shocking just how much she did look like Sam. "Are you sure Jack?"

Jack leaned forward to look closer at her face and answered, "I'm sure."

"Who's Teri Fuller?" Peter asked as he stood on the other side of the bed.

Jack straightened his posture and explained, "She was involved in a missing person case over three years ago. We were looking for Josh Abrams, a young self-made millionaire who sold his dot-com business and went to teach at an inner city school. His 'friend' had conspired with Teri, who was sixteen at the time, to blackmail him. She seduced him and he fell for her – hard. But Teri ended up playing her co-conspirator, Josh, and even her own brother, making off with $100K of Josh's money. The very money Josh had withdrawn so they could run away together." He looked down at the dead woman and said, "Sam connected with Teri and even defended her as the wronged party right up until the end."

"That would explain her using Sam's name," Martin said as his eyes moved from Teri's form to look at Jack. "If I remember correctly Sam took the case pretty hard."

"Yeah, it would." Jack turned to look at him and asked, "What are you doing here? How did you find out?"

"Ruby called me; she's been assigned to the case," Martin replied. As hard as it was for him to hear what she told him he couldn't imagine how hard it was for her to make the call. "She's flying out here right now."

"Are you talking about Ruby Carmichael, the profiler they're sending from Behavioral Sciences?" Peter interrupted and he nodded his head. "Do you know if she worked the previous case?"

Martin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. The truth was after Ruby had told him the victim's name his only concern was getting down here to make sure it wasn't his Samantha Spade. "I don't know." He glanced at his watch. "But she should be here pretty soon. They are sending her on the jet. Apparently the woman killed in Washington was the daughter of a diplomat so this case is high priority; if it is indeed the same guy."

"Since it looks like Hoover is going to be eyeing us carefully on this one, let's try and have as much information to give her when she gets here," Peter commented as he turned to Jack. "I'm guessing you will want your team involved?"

"Absolutely," Jack replied.

"Okay, I'll go interview the hotel clerk and manager. Do you want to take the maid who found her and maybe Fitzgerald can go check out the hotel surveillance?"

"Sounds like a plan," Jack replied and Peter walked out of the room. He turned to Martin and said, "I couldn't reach Sam earlier. Did you try calling her?"

"Yeah, I just kept getting her voicemail," Martin replied. It really worried him that she wasn't answering her cell phone. Sam ALWAYS answered her phone. He knew that to be a fact – when they were dating they were interrupted on more occasions than he could count.

"Me too." Jack looked at Martin before carefully asking, "I don't suppose you know Seth's phone number."

"No," he replied a little too quickly.

"I'll call Danny and have him stop by her apartment on his way here." Jack pulled out his cell phone and started dialing as he walked out the bedroom. "Let me know what you find on those tapes."

"You got it," he replied to Jack's back before looking down at Teri. Whoever did this to her was one sick son-of-a-bitch. While Martin was sad that Teri had been killed he couldn't help but give another prayerful thanks that it wasn't Sam. He honestly didn't know what he would do if it had been her. While they had both moved on she was still incredibly important to him.

"Excuse me." Martin looked up and saw one of the CSI techs looking at him. "I'm going to start taking the photos now if that's alright."

"Yeah, sorry, I'll get out of your way." Martin moved away from the bed and headed out of the room. He had video to analyze.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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Sam woke up to loud knocking on her apartment door. She moved to get out of bed still half asleep and fumbled around for her robe. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Seth stir, having heard the knocking as well. He was tall, muscular and blonde. She had dated David for about a month and while he was nice he ultimately proved to be the 'rebound' guy. About a month later she went out to dinner with Danny and Emma and met Seth. He was a pharmaceutical rep who Emma knew from the hospital. He was a smart and reasonably funny and although he sometimes took his job a little too seriously, she was just happy that she was finally starting to really move on.

"Who is it?" Seth grumbled as he rolled over to look at her.

"I have no idea. Just stay here, I'll be right back," Sam replied as she wrapped her robe tightly around her waist and walked to her door, grabbing her gun along the way. She approached the door and looked through the peephole. Once she saw that it was Danny she unlocked the door and asked, "What's going on? What are you doing here? Why didn't you call me first?"

Danny just gave her an annoyed look and said, "I tried calling you but you weren't answering."

"What?" Sam asked wondering if her cell phone had died. "Why didn't you try my home number?"

"I did, you weren't answering that one either," he replied, sounding even more annoyed.

"Oh," she replied perplexedly before getting back to finding out why he was here. "Do we have a new case?"

"Yes," he solemnly replied. "Can I come in so we don't have to discuss it in the hall?"

"Yeah, of course, sorry." She stepped aside so Danny could enter. He walked past her and stood in the middle of her living room. She closed her door and asked, "What's going on?"

"A woman was found murdered at the Ritz-Carlton." Danny paused and gave her a concerned look as he added, "She was checked-in under the name Samantha Spade."

"What? Oh, my god," Sam stuttered.

"Yeah, Jack and Martin went down there to make sure it wasn't you," he explained. She knew that it must have been extremely difficult for them go to the hotel not knowing if it was her when Danny critically added, "It didn't make matters easier that you weren't answering your phones."

"They never rang," Sam replied defensively. "Let me go get dressed and I'll go to the hotel with you."

"There's one more thing," Danny said. She stopped walking down the hall to turn around and look at him questioningly. He took a breath and softly said, "The murdered woman, Jack said it's Teri Fuller."

"Teri Fuller? Teri from the Abrams case?" Sam asked in disbelief.

Danny nodded his head sadly.

Sam didn't know how to process that information so she boxed it up and said, "I'll be right back."

She hurried into her bedroom to get dressed, her mind spinning, and found Seth sitting on the edge of the bed putting on his pants. He stood up to zip up his trousers and asked, "What's going on? Who's here?"

"It's Danny. I have to go to work," she replied as she moved around to her nightstand to inspect her phones. It didn't make any sense that she wouldn't have heard them. She picked up her cell and sure enough it was dead but it was connected to the charger. She picked up her cordless phone and same thing. This was weird. She crouched down to check and make sure they were plugged in only to discover that they were not; but the cords to Seth's palm pilot and cell phone were. A wave of anger washed over her and she quickly unplugged his devices and plugged hers in. She stood up and turned to face him.

"You unplugged my phone so you could plug in your stuff!" Sam accused.

He at least had the decency to look guilty. "I didn't know what they were connected to and I told you I have an early meeting…."

"So you just unplugged them without checking to see if they were something I needed?" She was so mad she honestly thought she might shoot him. "Do you have any idea what you put my friends through by doing this incredibly stupid and selfish thing? My team thought I might have been killed!"

Seth shook his head and said, "That's a little dramatic…"

"No, it isn't. A woman with _MY_ name was found murdered and Martin and Jack had to go to the hotel to verify it wasn't me," Sam raged. She was so angry at him but she also knew that Danny was waiting for her and they had to leave. "Forget it. I don't have time for this right now. I have to work." She stormed to her closet, grabbed an outfit and as she walked to the bathroom she glared at Seth and said, "You know how to let yourself out."

"Samantha…." Seth began but she had slammed the door before he had a chance to finish.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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"Ms. Santos, I know you are probably still upset but I need to ask you some questions," Jack said in his usual cool tone.

"I understand," Lena Santos replied as a uniformed officer handed her a cup of coffee. She was in her mid-forties, had short dark brown hair and a light pale skin. She sat on a chair in another hotel suite, still wearing her gray and white maid uniform.

"According to the officers you reported finding her body at 7:29 pm tonight. That's kind of late to be cleaning, what were you doing in her room?"

"Turn-down service. She requested her bed be turned down at 7:15 pm every evening unless otherwise instructed but I was running late," Lena replied as she stared into her cup of coffee before putting it down on the table.

"Are you her regular maid?" he asked as he eyed the cup longingly, he really wanted one of his own.

"I'm the evening maid, yes. Tina Hayden works the day shift." Lena pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose.

He waited for her to finish before asking, "Did you ever meet Ms. Spade?"

"A few times." Lena's voice was filled with disdain.

Jack cocked an eyebrow and asked, "You didn't care for her?"

"I'm only a maid so I'm used to being ignored and people forgetting I'm in the room. Sometimes I hear things," she replied as she balled up the tissue in her hands.

"What kind of things?"

"It was a few nights ago," Lena began.

XXX

_She knocked lightly on the door and said, "Turn down service." _

_Teri's voice yelled out, "Come in" so Lena entered. Teri is walking around the suite in a silk robe that barely covers her undergarments; both of which look very expensive. Besides telling the maid she could come in she ignores Lena's presence. _

_Lena starts walking towards the bedroom when Teri's cell phone rang and the young blonde crossed the room to pick it up. She tosses her hair as she checks the caller-ID and flips it open and irritably answers, "I thought I told you to leave me alone. We're through."_

_Lena stood by the bed and began pulling down the bed covers but her eyes are focused on Teri who is still on the phone, pacing the suite. _

"_Like I said, I've changed my mind. It's over." Teri's voice was mean and hard. "That's not my problem. It's my money now."_

_She walked over to the window and looked out at the view as she continued, "It's not my fault you didn't learn the first time. Don't ever call me again."_

_Teri turned off the phone and tossed it into the trash can. She gives a light, wicked laugh and walked to the bar to pour herself a drink. Lena who had been watching her the entire time promptly finished turning down the bed and starts for the door. _

_Drink in hand, Teri paced around the room, she looks like she is thinking and calculating. When she sees that Lena is about to leave she frowned and pointed to the trash can where she just tossed the phone. "You forgot to empty the trash."_

"_Yes, miss," Lena obediently replied. She walked over and removed the liner from the trash can and quickly exited the room._

XXX

"I don't like to speak ill of the dead but the way she was on the phone, she was not a nice woman," Lena finished.

"Did you throw away the cell phone?" Jack asked as he wrote down the information in his notepad.

Lena lowered her eyes and shamefully replied, "No, it was a disposable cell so I decided to keep it until the time ran out."

Thinking they may have caught a break he asked, "Do you still have it?"

"Yes," she guiltily replied. "It's downstairs in my locker."

"I'm going to need it," Jack said. She nodded her head and got up to go retrieve the cell.

As she walked away he thought about what she had said about Teri. If her description of Teri was accurate then perhaps she did become a true femme fatale after all.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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Sam and Danny boarded the hotel elevator. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tucked some stray hairs behind her ears trying to appear awake and professional. She could feel Danny's eyes on her so she tossed him an annoyed look and asked, "What?"

He registered a hurt look before he said, "Seth left in kind of a hurry."

"Yeah, he did," she replied as she shook her head frustratedly. By the time she had gotten out of the bathroom Seth had gone and Danny looked even more uncomfortable than he did when he arrived.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked.

She released a breath and said, "He's the reason you guys couldn't reach me. He unplugged my phones so he could charge up his palm pilot and cell."

Danny winced. "Oh, that's not cool."

"No, it's not," Sam commented angrily. She pursed her lips and continued staring at the elevator doors fuming.

"Okay," Danny responded before deciding to let the subject drop.

She wasn't sure if all her anger was directed towards Seth because of the asinine thing he did or if some of it was from the finding out Teri, the girl who reminded her of when she was younger, was murdered while using her name. She wondered what kind of life Teri had been living since the day she disappeared with Josh's money. What lead her here, back to New York? She finally decided to put these types of thoughts aside and just focus on what she was going to have to deal with when the elevator stopped.

When they arrived on the floor they spotted Jack exiting a hotel room. They made a beeline right for him and as they approached Sam saw a look of visible relief cross Jack's face.

"I've never been happier to see you," Jack said as she neared. His face was soft and concerned.

"Thanks." She gave him a gentle smile and softly asked, "Are you sure it's Teri?

"I'm sure," Jack replied somberly.

"I want to see her."

Jack studied her face and she knew he was trying to read her, to see if she could handle it. He must have deemed her able because he gestured for them to follow him back to another room. "I should warn you, it's pretty grisly."

They just nodded their heads and followed Jack into the bedroom. Two CSI's exited, leaving the room empty except for the body on the bed. The moment Sam saw Teri she felt some bile rise up in her throat. The young woman's body was completely mutilated. Her heart felt heavy with sadness at seeing Teri's still form looking so….damaged.

Sam walked around the bed needing to see Teri's face for herself; for confirmation. When she saw her she knew it was Teri but at the same time she was amazed at how much they looked alike. She studied Teri and wondered why she chose to reinvent herself with her name and style.

She could feel Jack and Danny watching her worriedly. She knew Jack well enough to know that he was thinking about the last conversation they had about Teri and the connection Sam felt to her. That was the night she told him that when she was younger she had run away but her mom had tracked her down. But when Teri ran the only ones looking for her were the authorities.

She began to wonder what kind of person would do this to a young woman when a uniformed officer entered the room and cleared his throat so he could get their attention.

"Agent Malone?" Jack looked over to the uniformed officer. "Agent Crawford wanted me to tell you that the profiler, Ruby Carmichael, is on her way up."

Sam saw Jack eye her quickly when he looked back at the officer and replied, "Thank you."

As soon as the officer left, Jack turned back to her and said, "I'm just gonna…."

"Yeah, sure, go," She replied with a nod. Danny looked at her carefully before getting in step alongside Jack and exiting the room.

Sam sighed heavily and rubbed her head. While she was in no way prepared to see Teri's dead body she really was not ready to meet the woman Martin did not seem to think was just a 'rebound' girlfriend.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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Danny followed Jack through the suite that was crowded with uniformed cops and CSI's. They had obviously given up trying to look useful since the feds had arrived and were lingering around and chatting with one another in the hallway. As they headed down the hall and saw a uniformed officer walked up to Jack and handed him a cell phone. "Here's the phone that the maid took."

"Thanks." Jack took the phone and started scrolling through the incoming calls.

Anxious for something to do Danny asked, "What do we know so far?"

He watched as Jack looked down the hall to see if anyone had exited the elevator yet. When he saw that the doors were still closed he looked back at Danny and replied, "It seems Teri was back up to her old tricks. According to the maid it sounds like she duped someone for money – again." He finished examining the cell and handed it to him. "Take this and track down all the calls made and received."

He accepted the phone and asked, "Am I looking for anyone in particular?"

"Something tells me Josh Abrams is going to be one of the callers," Jack replied.

Danny was about to ask why Jack suspected Josh when the elevator doors dinged and out walked Ruby accompanied by Peter Crawford. He had met Ruby last month when she came up to New York to visit Martin. Even though he still secretly hoped that Martin and Sam would finally get over their shit and realize that they were meant to be together, he had to admit that he really liked her.

Peter was talking to her with animated hands as they moved down the hall when Ruby spotted him and walked directly to where they stood. When she neared she gave a gentle smile and said, "Hi, Danny. It's good to see you again. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me too," Danny replied before making introductions. "Ruby Carmichael, this is Jack Malone. Jack, this is Ruby Carmichael."

Jack extended his hand and greeted, "Nice to meet you, I've heard nothing but good things."

"Same here, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Ruby replied as she shook his hand.

Jack released his grip and said, "I'm guessing Peter's debriefed you." She nodded her head. "I've already interviewed the hotel maid," he began as he started to update Ruby on everything he learned, which Danny found beneficial as well.

Once he was finished Ruby said, "I'd like to see the body now if that's alright."

"Sure," Jack replied.

She pulled a pair of latex gloves out of her jacket pocket, looked at the two open doors leading to two different hotel suites and asked, "Which room?"

Jack pointed to the door to the left and said, "She's in there."

Ruby nodded and headed inside as she slipped on the gloves. She walked in ahead of them and Danny suddenly wished he had thought to go in first as a sort of warning to Sam. While she and Martin both claimed they had moved on, it did not escape his attention that beyond knowing the names of the people each other was seeing, they never talked about their lives outside of work when the other one was around.

It was then that he realized that Martin was nowhere in sight and he wondered if his friend hadn't planned it that way so as to avoid having to introduce his ex to his next. But it was a mute point because before Danny knew it, Ruby had walked into the bedroom and come face to face with Samantha Spade.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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Sam was still standing by Teri's body when a woman wearing a Donna Karan outfit and latex gloves walked in and stopped short at the sight of her. Sam knew there was no mistaking who she was and by the look on Ruby's face, she knew who she was as well. She opened her mouth to speak again but closed it when Jack, Peter and Danny came trailing in behind her.

Danny looked nervous as he made quick work of the introductions. "Sam, this is Ruby Carmichael. Ruby, this is Samantha Spade."

She could see Danny's eyes moving anxiously between the two women. She wondered if he might have actually thought they were going to get into a catfight right in the middle of a murder scene. They were grown women for god's sake. Of course, she couldn't deny that there wasn't a part of her that wanted to scratch Ruby's pretty little eyes out. Instead, being a professional she opted to simply nod at her in greeting.

"Hello," Ruby said with a nervous smile which Sam had to admit pleased her far more than it should. With her eyes on Sam she slowly made her way to the bed. It was then that her expression went blank as her gaze became focused on Teri's still form.

Peter spoke up and said, "Alright hot shot profiler; what can you tell us?"

Ruby gave Peter a scrutinizing look before beginning, "The room shows no signs of struggle; suggests relationship." She leaned over and touched a cut on Teri's forearm. "The cuts were made with precision and symmetry but strictly superficial. They weren't intended to kill or even cause her to bleed to death but to cause pain and disfigurement. He wanted her to suffer. There are no signs of hesitation or hurry indicating that this isn't his first time. They are all pretty evenly spaced. It's almost like a pattern." She looked up to where Jack and Peter were standing. "Has the scene already been photographed?"

"Yes," they both replied.

"Good." Ruby then walked around to where Sam stood. Sam stepped back; curious as to what she was doing as she continued her analysis. Ruby leaned in close to study Teri's face. "He made up the victim's face in dark, comical make-up much like the rest of the victims but the technique has improved. It isn't messy or rushed. He took his time; he knew he wasn't going to be interrupted."

Jack interrupted, "'Victims'?"

Ruby gestured towards Teri and said, "She's the fifth."

"The fifth?" Peter asked.

"Yes," she replied with a nod. "I'll give you a full debriefing on those cases but I'd like to finish here first."

The two men looked at one another curiously when Peter motioned for her to continue.

"The victim's hair coloring is expensive and judging by the roots, pretty recent." Ruby's gaze moved down to Teri's fingers and she picked up her hand and examined her nails. "French manicure, also recent. Is there a salon in this hotel?"

"Yes," Peter replied.

"We'll need to interview the stylists and see if they saw her." She said as she looked under Teri's nails for any skin or tissue. "Women give up a lot of info to their hair stylists and I'd like to know what her plans were now that she was back in New York." She dropped Ruby's hand and continued on, "Now the positioning of the body suggests he wanted her to be exposed, humiliated. I don't think she was raped. The victim wasn't chosen because he liked her but on the contrary, it was because he didn't."

As Ruby continued poking, prodding and theorizing, Sam suddenly started feeling very protective of Teri. The way she described Teri, like she wasn't a real person. The way she continually referred to her as 'the victim' was really starting to bother her.

"…wait for the autopsy for results to be sure. The body…"

"Teri," Sam said with conviction and Ruby looked up at her. "Her name is Teri Fuller."

Ruby stopped what she was doing and stood up straight. She cocked an eyebrow and with an irritated look on her face she said, "Excuse me?"

"Her name is Teri Ann Fuller; not 'the body' or 'the victim' but Teri."

"Sam…." Jack warned.

"If my method bothers you perhaps you should wait outside until I am done," Ruby replied, giving Sam a perturbed look.

"Well, it does bother me. She's a person, not just some thing that you can treat like an object of interest," Sam accused. She could see Ruby clenching her jaw but remaining silent. "She was a young woman who maybe made some bad choices but even in death she is worthy of your respect and that means addressing her by her name."

"Sam, that's enough!" Jack spoke loudly, getting her attention. He gave her a hard look and said, "I need to speak with you outside right now."

She glared at Jack as she stormed out without giving Ruby so much as a backward glance. She walked out of the bedroom, through the living area and went to stand out on the balcony. She wanted fresh air and she wanted it now. She braced her hands on the ledge, closed her eyes and leaned forward taking a deep breath.

"What in the hell was that?" Jack asked as he joined her on the balcony.

She started to explain, "I'm sorry, Jack but the way she kept talking about Teri, like she was just some prop..."

Jack held up his hand for her to stop. "First of all, Ruby is a profiler…."

"We profile too, Jack," she replied defensively.

"Let me finish." Jack retorted with constrained aggravation. "Yes, we profile but we focus on getting into the head of the people we are searching for; she is trained to get into the head of the killer. And the killer does not empathize or relate to the person they are killing."

Sam nodded her head reluctantly.

"Besides, I don't think this is just about her technique," Jack said, his expression softening. "This is about Ruby and her relationship to Martin."

Sam shook her head. "No, Jack. That has nothing to do with it."

He gave her a disbelieving look, paused and said, "Good. Because if you want to help work this case then you will have to work with Ruby and that means treating her with respect, just like you would any other agent." Jack waited until she nodded her head in agreement before he added, "Sam, I know that this case is difficult for you but that is exactly why you cannot let your emotions block you from doing your job. If you don't think you can keep it professional I need you to tell me now."

"I'll be fine, Jack," she replied determinedly.

He looked at her warily but nodded his head before he walked back into the suite. Sam took another breath before she headed back inside.

When she entered the living area she saw Martin walk in through the hallway door. She gave him a small smile and he walked right over, put his arms around her and softly said, "I was so worried it was you." He stepped back and gruffly asked, "Where in the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you all night."

"Long story but I'm fine. Sorry to make you worry." Sam tried to not think about how good it felt to have Martin's arms around her, even if it was for a brief few seconds. "Where have you been?"

"I was looking at the surveillance tapes downstairs," he replied as he continued looking at her.

Ignoring the power his eyes still had on her she asked, "Did you find anything useful?"

"Not really but I'm still working on it." Martin was about to say something else when someone behind him asked if they could pass; it was the Medical Examiner here to take Teri's body back to the morgue.

They watched as the two men wheeled in the gurney and headed into the bedroom. Sam was still watching their backs when Martin touched her arm and whispered softly, "I'm sorry about Teri, Sam. I know you really felt for her."

She tilted her head back and gave him a sad smile of gratitude. They continued to look at one another for a few beats when Jack, Danny, and Peter walked out of the bedroom.

Jack spotted Martin and said, "Please tell me you got some good news."

He shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid not; it seems that the camera on this floor has been out of order for the last two days. The hotel hasn't gotten around to fixing it yet. I called James to come down here and take a look at the camera to see if it has been tampered with."

She looked behind Jack and saw Ruby exiting the bedroom, not looking very happy. Sam glanced quickly at Martin and saw that he had noticed Ruby as well. He gave her a small smile that felt like a knife to Sam's gut.

"Jack, I'm going to head back to the office," Danny announced as he waved a cell phone in the air and moved to leave.

"I'll go with you," Sam said quickly. She gave a quick nod to the group and hurried out behind Danny, not wanting to witness a Martin and Ruby reunion.

As they stood waiting for the elevator Danny asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't ready to see her like that."

She left it up to Danny to decide if she was talking about Teri or Ruby.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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As soon as Sam and Danny exited, Ruby walked over to where he stood with Peter and Jack. She gave him a terse smile that suddenly had him very worried but when she spoke it was in a cool, professional voice. "I talked to the M.E. and he said that the autopsy is scheduled for first thing in the morning. In the meantime, we could head back to the office and I can debrief you on the previous cases."

"Good idea," Jack replied and the four of them headed down the hall.

Peter and Jack walked ahead of Ruby and him so he took the opportunity to talk to her. He gently bumped his shoulder against hers. "Hey, are you alright?"

She glanced at him and said, "I met Samantha and let's just say it didn't go well."

His dinner churned in his belly. He was about to ask what happened when they reached the elevator and saw that Peter and Jack had already boarded and were waiting for them.

Ruby whispered, "Later" and they went inside and the elevator doors slid closed.

Twenty-five minutes later another set of elevator doors opened up and they were in the federal building. Peter led them down the hall of the Violent Crimes Unit into an empty conference room that was going to be used as the base of operations.

They all grabbed seats and Peter began, "Okay, so tell us what's going on."

Ruby pulled files out her briefcase and began, "The first case dates back to February 2000 in Seattle; Allison Bateman, 24 years old. She was a hostess at a restaurant." She slid the file folder across the table. Martin picked up one of the photos and saw a pretty blonde with blue eyes looking back at him. "October 2001 – Kendra Rogers in Albuquerque; she was 34 years old and worked at Intel as a systems programmer. June 2002 – Louisa Franklin in San Francisco; she worked in public relations and was 36 years old." Ruby spread the women's photos across the table. All of the women looked like the first: blonde hair and extremely pretty.

Martin couldn't help but also think that they looked a lot like Sam.

Ruby sighed and pulled out another file, "Finally, in March of 2004 there was Jocelyn Northam. She worked for a financial firm and was 26 years old. She was the only woman to show signs of sexual assault but no hairs or semen were found." She paused. "Her father is the Neil Northam, Managing Director of Operations at the State Department."

"That's a lot of time to pass between the murders," Jack said as he looked through the files.

"Not to mention locations," Martin added.

"Yes, it is. No connections were made until Jocelyn Northam's murder and that is most likely only because it was such a high profile case," Ruby replied. "Not, that it helped. Basically we're still starting back at square one."

"Does that mean you didn't work the previous case?" Peter asked deflated.

"No, I'm coming into this one fresh, too. Brian Rickman worked the case last time but he's retired in Boca." Ruby sighed and leaned back in her chair, absentmindedly rubbing her neck. "I reviewed most of his notes and the profile he created on the flight over. There is a copy in there with the files but I'd prefer you keep that to yourselves until I can update it."

"Before we start looking, what sorts of connections were made between the victims?" Martin asked as he flipped through the files.

"Besides physical features all of the women were considered promiscuous, vain and materialistic. The women came from different backgrounds but that had that one thing in common. I believe that is why, with the exception of Jocelyn, they weren't raped. The killer loathed them and the life they lived. He thought of them as unclean, damaged goods. But that is what makes Jocelyn so tricky….why did he choose to rape her? And from looking at our latest victim it didn't look like she was raped but I'll wait for the official report from the M.E." Ruby paused and Martin could almost see her wheels spinning. "That's why I'd prefer you keep Brian's profile to yourselves. He was great but when I was reading it over it just didn't seem right. Something's off and I have to figure out what it is."

Jack and Peter nodded their heads in agreement when Peter asked, "I know a profile can take time but we need to proceed while the trail is fresh."

"I agree. Right now we start with Teri. Why she was here, who she was seeing, you know the drill." She looked over at Jack. "I'd be happy to hand that over to your team since you seem to know Teri's history the best."

He couldn't help but notice that Jack gave her a slightly embarrassed look before he replied, "No problem."

"Great, then my team will re-examine the older cases and see if they can find any current connections," Peter said.

"You can keep those files. I have copies." Ruby waved her hand over the table when she yawned. "Excuse me. I had just gotten back to Washington when they had me fly out again."

"Why don't you go get some sleep and we'll reconvene in the morning," Peter ordered as he stood up and looked at Ruby. "Let's get out of here. I can drop you off at your hotel."

Ruby and Martin's eyes meet in silent understanding and she spoke up, "Actually, I'm not staying at a hotel. I'll be staying with Agent Fitzgerald." At hearing her words he couldn't help but smile. He loved that she wasn't afraid to admit that she was seeing him to a senior agent.

Peter looked back and forth between the two of them and nodded his head slowly. "Oh, okay. Will I see you after the autopsy tomorrow?"

"Yes," Ruby replied, stifling another yawn.

"Goodnight." Peter nodded at them and walked out of the room.

Ruby looked at Martin and said, "I'm just going to run to the ladies room and then we can head out."

"Okay, it's down the hall and to your left," he directed.

As soon as Ruby was out of the room, Jack turned to Martin and gave him a hard look. "This case is already going to be hard enough considering who the victim is and the connection to Sam. I just want to make sure that this…" Jack waved his hand from Martin to the door where Ruby exited, "will not get in the way of the investigation."

"It won't be a problem, Jack," he replied with conviction.

Jack looked at him like he wanted to say something but instead he just stood up and said, "Night Martin. See you first thing in the morning."

"Night," he replied as Jack walked out the door, passing Ruby on her way back.

They exchanged quick 'goodnights' and Ruby leaned against the doorjamb, looking over at him. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Martin stood up, walked over to where her. "So, I just got a little lecture on professionalism from Jack. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Ruby sighed heavily and said, "She chastised me."

"Excuse me?"

"Samantha chastised me on my profiling method." Ruby crossed her arms and blew out a frustrated breath. "She treated me like I was some green thumb rookie straight out of Quantico and if you hadn't called to update me on the case and Sam's history with the victim beforehand I would have gone off on her, Martin."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that but…"

Ruby held up her hand and said, "Please don't try and make excuses for the way she behaved. I know you are worried about hurting her but so help me god, Martin, you defend her right now and I will lose it." Ruby lowered her eyes and added, "She's not over you. That much is obvious."

"Yes, she is. She's seeing someone named Seth," he replied adamantly.

Ruby shook her head, "Doesn't matter. The way she reacted tonight shows she hasn't moved on yet, whether she's seeing someone or not. I just pray that from now on we can all work together because if she pulls crap again like she did tonight I will have her removed from the investigation."

"Is that supposed to be a threat to her or me?" he asked, leaning in to Ruby's face.

She met his eyes and calmly said, "You tell me, Martin." Their eyes were waged in a silent battle until Ruby had to suppress another yawn and said, "Ugh, I don't mean to start a fight but I am tired and grumpy."

Martin looked at her, she really did look exhausted. He knew that the Sam discussion was far from over but he also knew that this wasn't the time or place to have it. So he tilted his head down the hall and said, "Let's get out of here."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

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Sam had just finished buttoning up and began tucking her blouse into her pants when she heard a knock on her door. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It's bright red numbers reading: 7:25 AM. Worried that something else might have happened she hurried to the door and swung it open without bothering to look through the peephole.

Seth was standing in her hallway a tall cup of coffee from Starbucks. He gave her a sad smile with puppy dog eyes and said, "I come bearing a peace offering."

She gave him a weak smile and motioned for him to enter. As he passed he handed her the Starbucks cup. Sam took one whiff and knew that he had bought her favorite: cappuccino. She took a drink and felt the delicious coffee drink soothe something inside of her.

She turned and looked at Seth who was standing by the sofa. She eyed him warily and he bit his bottom lip fidgeting, waiting for her to speak. However, she just took another drink and moved to sit on the sofa.

"Okay, I guess I'll go first." Seth sat down next to her. "Samantha, I am so sorry about last night. It was such an incredibly stupid thing for me to do. Especially considering what you do for a living."

"Yes, it was," she replied, curtly.

"I guess the question is: was it unforgivable? Are we finished?" he asked; his voice full of hurt.

"I'm still really mad at you," Sam said. She could literally still feel some of her blood boiling at just remembering what he did but she also knew that this was the first mistake Seth had made and while it was a big one, she had promised herself (and her mother) that she would give men more room for error. So she swallowed a little bit of her anger and pride and said, "You have to promise to NEVER do anything like that again. Plus, to make it up to me, you will have to take me to a fancy restaurant of my choice…"

Before she could finish Seth leaned forward and started kissing her which caused her to laugh. "I promise I will never do it again and I will make it up to you."

Sam gave him a lingering kiss before pulling back and looking into his eyes and saying, "You better. Because you now have one strike against you and I follow the baseball rules of dating: three strikes and you're out."

"I got it, coach," Seth replied with a laugh before moving in to kiss her again.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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The first thing Martin registered when he entered his apartment was the smell of a fresh pot of coffee. He removed Milo's collar and leash just as the dog made a mad dash to the kitchen. He hung them up on the coat rack and followed behind.

When he entered he saw Ruby was already dressed and sitting at the table with a pile of case files in front of her. She was petting Milo, looked up, smiled and said, "Good morning, how was your run?"

He gave her a quick kiss. "Good. Milo managed to pee on every fire hydrant in a ten block radius."

She turned her attention back to Milo and said, "Good dog!"

Martin eyed a half eaten PB&J sandwich on the table and reached over and took a quick bite but it tasted very weird. He stopped mid-chew and with a mouth full of sandwich mumbled, "Whaz en dis sanwach?"

"I was craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but you were out of jelly so I used sweet relish," Ruby replied matter-of-factly.

He dropped the sandwich back onto the plate before walking over to the trash and spitting the food out of his mouth. He got a cup of water to get rid of that taste and said, "That's disgusting. Have you ever eaten that before?"

"No, but it sounded good. I like it," she replied as she took another bite of the vile combination.

He eyed her uncertainly when Milo walked over to his food dish, picked it up with his teeth and started bumping the heavy plastic against Martin's thigh. "Sorry, buddy. I forgot." He took the bowl from Milo and went to fetch his dog food. He filled his bowl and placed it next to his water dish. "Here you go." The big brown dog started gobbling up his food immediately.

Ruby finished her sandwich and coffee and put the dishes in the sink. She glanced at her watch and said, "I have to go. The autopsy's at seven-thirty." She started gathering files, looked over at him and asked, "Do you want to come and observe?"

"As tempting as that is, I have to decline. I need to go talk to James and see if he found out anything on the camera." The truth was he hated observing autopsies. When he was in the academy he was that one guy who vomited the first time he saw a dead body. Not that he would tell Ruby that, being a man and all. He leaned over and gave Ruby a quick kiss. "I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye," she turned to look at Milo, who was face deep in his breakfast and said, "Bye Milo."

Milo looked up and watched her leave before returning his attention to his food. Martin laughed at just how much a guy's dog Milo was; he doesn't stop eating for anyone.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

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Viv leaned forward in her chair and tried to catch her breath. Every day it was getting more and more difficult and her doctor said that it might be time for her to consider using an oxygen tank. She couldn't imagine coming in to work and having to lug around a device with a tube connected to her nose. It would be too humiliating. She and Marcus discussed it and if, or when, it came to that she would go ahead and start her disability leave. But until then, she wanted to continue working as much as possible.

She had just caught her breath when she heard Jack approaching for his unofficial daily check-in.

"Hey Viv, how are you doing today?" he asked as he came around to sit on the edge of her desk.

"Good. I talked to Danny this morning and he said we have a new case involving Teri Fuller," she said the sentence slowly, conserving each breath.

"Yeah, did he give you all the details?" Jack asked.

Viv nodded her head. No sense wasting precious breath on a yes/no question.

"Good. I just came from talking to her father and brother. I wish I could say Gary and Calvin took the news hard but they are still really bitter about what she put them through. They said they haven't spoken to her since before she disappeared."

"I can't say I blame them. Do you think they're telling the truth?" Viv replied. Teri screwed her family over so she could go and find a better life.

"Yeah, I do." Jack glanced around at the empty desks. "Where is everyone?"

"Martin is in the tech room going over the video footage with James, Danny went to pick up the phone records, Paul and Sam went to the hotel salon to see if Teri had been there. I told Danny I would help go through the phone records when he got back."

"Okay," he said with a grin. "So I guess I'm the one who needs to find something to do then."

"Yeah, get to work," she replied jokingly.

"Alright then, talk to you later, Viv." He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before heading back to his office.

She watched him walk away and stop to talk to Danny and Martin who were on their way into the bullpen. She felt an ache in her chest that she was certain was not related to her illness. She was going to miss being here and seeing her 'other' family everyday.

"I got those phone records that I am sure you are anxious to help me review," Danny said with a wide grin as he waved the white sheets of paper in the air. Behind him she could see Martin roll his eyes on his way to his desk.

"Bring it on," she replied with a smile. She wasn't going to worry about the day she wouldn't be around and focus instead on the joy of being here today; even if she did spend it looking through pages of phone records.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

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Sam relaxed in her chair and drank her second cup of coffee this morning. She smiled when she remembered Seth coming by her apartment in an effort to make amends. He had his moments, that boy.

"What are you smiling about?" Paul asked as he shifted in his seat so he could get a better view of the salon. They had arrived about twenty minutes early so they decided to have some overpriced coffee in the hotel restaurant.

She smiled and replied, "Can't a person just smile because they feel like it?"

"No," he quickly retorted. Sam just smiled wider and kept quiet. He nodded his head towards the salon and said, "Looks like they've arrived."

She and Paul walked to the salon and went inside. Sam decided that since this was female territory she would take the reigns. "Hello, I'm special agents Samantha Spade and this is special agent Paul Turner. Can I ask your name?"

"Dante," the stylist replied. She was tiny and cute with spikey black hair.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions about someone who might have been in here to see you recently." Sam pulled a photo of Teri out of coat pocket and handed it to Dante.

Dante took the photo but kept her eyes on Sam. "I'm sorry, weren't you just in here a few days ago?"

Sam realized that Teri must have been in here. "No, but the woman we need to talk to you about does look a lot like me and she even used my name."

She pointed to the photo and Dante looked at it before holding it up next to Sam. "Wow, it's uncanny. I mean, she looks younger but other than that…"

Sam saw Paul bite his lip to suppress a laugh at the "looked younger" comment as she took the photo back from Dante. "Can you tell us what you and she talked about?"

"Sure, it wasn't anything much. She just came in for a manicure and talked on her cell phone most of the time to her accountant or someone like that."

XXX

_Dante was sitting on stool across a small table from Teri. She is filing Teri's nails while she chats on her cell phone like she doesn't have a care in the world. _

"_Did you get the money I wired?" Teri smiled into her phone as Dante switched to her other finger. "It was much easier than I thought it was going to be. That's the great thing about nice guys – they want to believe there is good in everyone." She laughed. "Okay, I'll see you when I get back. Bye."_

_Teri closed her RAZR cell phone and looked lost in thought. Dante continued working pretending to be oblivious but actually watching intently. _

"_Are you town for business?" Dante asked in a casual tone._

"_Something like that," she replied, smiling. "I was revisiting an old associate to get him to reinvest in a business relationship. We closed the deal yesterday so I'm getting ready to head back home but I thought I'd spend a little more time in the city first."_

"_Where's home?" Dante asked as she placed Teri's hand in some solution._

"_Up north," Teri deflected. "You know, it would be kind of fun to go home looking different; maybe a new haircut and color."_

"_Are you sure? You look great as a blonde. I know lots of women who would kill to get your hair." _

"_I'm sure. I actually think it would be fun to do something a little wild," Teri said as she played with her hair. "You know, I really like your cut. How do you think I would look with a pixie cut? Maybe color it dark brown?"_

_Dante studied Teri's face and said, "I think it would look great. It would totally change your appearance."_

"_Book it," Teri said with a grin. "I think I'd have a little more fun looking like someone else."_

XXX

"We were supposed to do it yesterday afternoon," Dante finished. "But she didn't show up."

"You said she had a RAZR cell phone?" Paul questioned.

"Yeah, it was pink with a bunch of those little jewels on it," Dante replied as she eyed a client coming in through the doors. "I have to work now, are we done?"

"Yeah," Sam replied and Dante headed to talk to the customer.

"I thought Jack said that Teri was using a disposable cell?" Paul asked as he opened the door for Sam.

"He did. My guess is she had the disposable cell for her alias and the RAZR for her real life," she replied as she looked around the lobby; her eyes landing on the front desk. "The question is: what happened to the other one?"

Paul followed her eye line and smiled. "These types of hotels usually have vaults for the guests."

They smiled at each other and walked to the front desk.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

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Martin walked out of the tech room feeling completely deflated. James saw that the camera had indeed been tampered with but there were no fingerprints or fibers found on it. He called the hotel to request a copy of the tape from the day it was disabled only to find out that they recorded over them every three days and that particular one was dubbed over on the afternoon of Teri's murder. Basically he felt like his entire morning was a big waste of time.

His cell phone rang and he flipped it open. "Fitzgerald."

"Hi, it's me." Ruby's voice was tired but mildly cheerful. "They just finished the autopsy and I'm on my way back to the office. Have you had lunch yet?"

"No, you want to meet someplace, maybe Sarabeth's Kitchen?" Martin smiled into the receiver. Whenever she was in town she insisted that they have breakfast or lunch there at least once.

"I would love to sneak off for one of their chicken salad sandwiches but there's too much to do. I was thinking more along the lines of me grabbing some burgers and fries and meeting you in the conference room. I want to bounce some ideas off of you."

"Make mine a bacon cheeseburger and a chocolate shake and you have yourself a deal."

XXXX

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to play with your food?" Martin teased as he bit into a fry while watching Ruby reassemble her burger. She gave him an annoyed look and tossed her tomato at him in response. He picked the red wheel off of his tie and placed it on his burger. "Thanks."

She gave a light chuckle as she switched the placement of the lettuce and avocado slices. Without looking up from her burger construction she said, "I think our killer is a woman."

He stopped chewing and eyed her. "First, how do you figure she's a woman? Second, since when do you like avocado on your burger?"

This time she did look up. "When I was re-reading Brian's profile there was this one thing that kept gnawing at me: the open nakedness of the body, the makeup; it all points to a sex crime, unless, it was a woman who was doing it. The killer mutilated the women and that took a long time which indicates pleasure, voyeurism but there was no rape." She smiled. "And to answer your other question, I got avocado because it sounded good today."

Martin raised eyebrow and said, "Okay, if it was a woman, how do you explain Jocelyn? She had signs of a sexual assault."

"That's the snag," she commented as she nibbled a fry. "I'm going to make some calls and have some of the guys poke around for me down in D.C."

"What about motive, what was it about these women that caused her to select them?"

"That's the thing; I don't think they were the motive – at least not directly. I think it has to do with the men they were seeing."

When Ruby explained her theory to him Martin had to agree that she was onto something. She asked him to help her gather a little more info so when she presented her profile to the teams they would have someplace to focus their search. There was a knock on the conference room door and Danny and Viv entered.

He realized that Viv and Ruby hadn't yet met so he gave them quick introductions before Danny shared what he learned.

"So, it looks like she had been in contact with Josh. He's the one she was talking to when the maid was in the room. In fact, he's the only one she called from that cell phone." Danny reached over and stole one of Martin's fries. "I talked to Sam and she said that she and Paul found that she had left one in the hotel vault. They are on their way back to go through those records. Jack and I are going to head over to talk to Josh but he wanted me to update you first." He grabbed a few more fries and walked to the door. "I'll talk to you when we get back. Later."

Ruby stared at the door Danny just exited and asked, "Is he always a whirlwind?"

Martin and Viv glanced at one another and Viv replied, "Pretty much." She smiled at Ruby as she sat down. "I thought I'd come by and see if you guys need any help doing backgrounds."

"Actually, I could use some help. I have to go back and check employment records at the place of business where the victim's boyfriends worked at the time of the women's deaths." Martin crumbled up the wrapper from his burger and reached over to grab the files. "Once we have those, we need to cross check them for to see if any of the names match up." He looked at Ruby. "I'm going to go ahead and check men and women."

Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "Better safe than sorry." She glanced at her watch. "Shit, I gotta go meet with Peter." She grabbed her files and gave Martin a quick kiss. "See you later. It was nice meeting you, Vivian."

"Same here, bye." Viv waved as Ruby exited before looking at Martin. "She seems nice."

"Yeah, she is." He walked over and tossed the empty wrappers in the trash. "So, you ready to get started?"

"Yeah, let me…." Viv started to stand up but stumbled back into her chair, gasping for air.

"Viv?" Martin rushed to the chair and knelt down at her side. He started to panic and asked again, "Viv, are you okay?"

She took some deep breaths. "Just…..stood…up…too…fast." She replied softly between pants of breath.

"Do you want me to call your doctor or maybe I should take you to the emergency room." Martin furrowed his brow in concern, suddenly feeling very scared. He wished her could do something for her. He rubbed her back slowly and waited as Viv's breathing seemed to become steadier.

She looked at him and said, "Sweetie, they're not going to tell me anything we don't already know." She patted his hand and he moved to hold on to hers. "It just may be time for me to take some time off." He watched her sadly and kept his hold on her hand. Viv smiled reassuringly but he didn't buy it. "Don't look so sad, this is normal. At least until I can get a new heart."

"We're all praying that will be very soon," Martin replied.

Viv closed her eyes and focused her breathing before softly saying, "It's a tough thing to pray for, a heart transplant." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Someone has to die so you can live."


	17. Chapter 17

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"_Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." - Margo Channing, 'All About Eve'_

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Chapter 17

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Sam squared her shoulders as she headed into the conference room for the meeting. She took a seat at the end of the conference table next to Paul. She pulled out her notepad as the rest of the agents started trailing in, including Danny and Jack. There was no sign of Viv and Martin. Or Ruby.

Danny and Jack sat on the other side of Paul so Sam leaned over to ask them about their visit with Josh Abrams. "What did you guys find out?"

Danny smirked and replied, "Yeah, you know that saying, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'? Josh is the biggest fool of all."

"He admits that he and Teri rekindled their affair but he also admitted that she duped him for the second time," Jack said cynically. "Only this time she was able to make off with three-hundred thousand."

Sam's eyes went wide as she repeated, "Three-hundred thousand? How did she do it this time?"

Danny laughed and said, "She told him she wanted to return the money she stole, which she did. Then she told him she was sorry but she was, and I quote, 'scared how much she loved him.'" He held his hand to his heart and in a romantic voice said, "He was so moved that he took her back and told her that the money didn't matter. Then she told him she wanted to start her own business but needed an investor, yada, yada, yada, Josh is three-hundred grand lighter."

"Did you guys have any luck with the other cell?" Jack asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Sam looked over at Paul, her eyes telling him to share what they've learned.

"One number turned up a lot, Hammett, Inc. It's based in Ontario, Canada with a net worth of one million and the owners of record are Teri Fuller and a Robert Hill. Only problem is, it isn't a real company. Their account recently received a wire transfer of three-hundred thousand a few days ago – which must have come from Abrams."

"Maybe Josh Abrams isn't the only one to fall into Teri's web," Jack said as he eyed Peter entering. "Hammett, Inc., Sam Spade, Teri really was a true femme fatale."

Sam turned to face the front as Peter began to debrief the teams on the previous cases related to Teri's murder. As he talked and placed the photos on the board, Sam felt a headache begin to form when she realized she resembled all of the women killed. She glanced around the room and saw that others noticed it too because they all looked back at her as if she was walking around with a bull's eye on her forehead.

While Paul was sharing the news about the cell phones, Ruby snuck in quietly and took a seat near the front. She glanced around the room and met Sam's eyes, giving her a small smile. It wasn't smug or condescending, it was just a nice smile and Sam immediately disliked her for it.

"And now I am going to hand it over to Ruby Carmichael who discussed her profile with me earlier and I suggest you all listen closely," Peter announced, grabbing Sam's attention. "Ruby."

Ruby stood up and Sam took a minute to try and find physical flaws – was her butt too big? Did she have chubby ankles? Large love handles? Anything? Much to Sam's disappointment, Ruby had a fantastic figure so she added that to her list of reasons to dislike her.

"Good afternoon, I believe the UNSUB to be a woman between the ages of 30 to 40." A murmur of discussion passed through the conference room. "She is as non-descript as most serial killers are and worse yet, she is patient and cautious. She does not kill for sport or passion but systematic revenge. To complicate things further, while all the victims do look remarkably alike, she does not select them her victims necessarily for those traits but rather the traits of who they are dating."

The door to the conference room opened and Martin walked in carrying large stacks of files followed by Viv who was holding a can of soda. Martin gave Ruby a quick nod and sat down alongside Viv, who handed him the beverage. Sam noticed that Ruby smiled at Martin and looked really pleased. She resisted the urge to knock Ruby's pretty little teeth in.

"In all accounts, these women were described as being beautiful, vain, and unfaithful. While the men they were dating were described as nice, wealthy, and most of all, entirely too trusting. Plus, each of the men worked in the technology field in one capacity or another. Our UNSUB is smart, bordering on genius. She works in technology as well but has poor social skills; keeps to herself. A wallflower." She gestured to Martin and Viv. "We have compiled employment records for us to look through as well as organizations the men had joined. My guess is she worked with the men and that's how her infatuation with them began."

"Why look at employment records and not old girlfriends? Or talk to the men and see if they can think of anyone they rebuked?" Paul asked leaning back in his chair and rubbing his chin.

"Because they wouldn't know her – she may have worked with the men or saw them around the office, she never made herself known to them. She created the relationship in her head."

Sam saw Viv whisper something to Martin and she walked out of the room. His watched her leave and when he looked back he met Sam's eyes and she could see that he was visibly bothered by something.

"Why kill the women and not go for the men?" A baby faced agent from Peter's team asked. He looked like he was fresh out of Quantico and just bought his first real suit that was one size too large.

"She loves them. She thinks she is doing them a favor, that the women were not good enough for them." Ruby paused as if she swallowed something distasteful. She walked to the end of the table where Martin sat and picked up his soda and took a drink. It was such a casual gesture but to Sam it reeked of an intimacy and ease she envied. "She is eliminating the obstacle in her having a relationship with the man she is obsessed with; even if the relationship is only known to her."

"If she was obsessed with a man, why are there so many victims?" Danny asked sounding cool and logical. "The women weren't with the same man or we would have picked it up sooner. Why would the UNSUB find a different man if she was willing to kill for the first one?"

"In each of the cases the men were completely distraught over the women they loved having been killed. To her, it not only showed weakness but it was ingratitude; both of which are a complete turn-off," Ruby replied equally cool as she sipped the soda, her eyes on the door. "She moved on."

Peter stood up and said, "Thanks Ruby. Okay, Martin if you can hand out the records we can get started."

Sam moved to stand up and grab her stack just in time to see Ruby rush out of the conference room.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

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Vivian braced herself against the sink counter and kept her eyes closed against the bright fluorescent lights of the bathroom. _Breathe in, breathe out_ Viv reminded herself. _You can do this, Vivian!_ She mentally shouted. She could feel the air travel through her nose to her lungs with each breath feeling like a blessing.

She realized that today was going to be her last as a federal agent. Even with her eyes closed she could feel her eyes fill with tears. It was like her world was spinning out of control and she couldn't even stop to catch her breath. She tried to put on a brave face for the team and her son but it was only late at night when she was alone with Marcus that she allowed her walls to come down and admit that she was terrified.

She loved coming into the office for the distraction. She could focus on the problems of other people so she wouldn't have to think about her own. She wouldn't have to think about not being around when Reggie started dating, graduated from high school, left home for college, got married…. It tore her up to think that she could miss all those milestones with her only son, her baby.

But at the same time it also weighed heavy on her soul to pray to God to find her a heart. It felt like she was asking God to take someone's life because she felt hers was more important. It was tantamount to murder in her mind. Marcus would argue that God doesn't work that way; he only took someone's life when it was their time and if a life could be saved from their death, it just reinforced God's plan.

Viv wondered if he would continue to believe that if she were to die before they could find a donor.

As she got her breath stabilized she opened her eyes in time to see Ruby run in and head straight for the toilet. She slammed the stall door shut and Viv could hear the unmistakable sounds of Ruby's lunch making a return visit. She reached out and grabbed some paper towels and ran them under some cool water. When she heard Ruby settle down she walked over and knocked lightly on the stall door. She heard a flush and the door slowly opened. Ruby stepped out looking clammy.

"Here, this might help." Viv handed her the wet towels.

Ruby gave her a look of gratitude as she immediately began wiping her forehead and neck. She walked over to the sink and rinsed her out mouth. When she was done she looked up and met Viv's eyes in the mirror. "Thanks, I think I might be coming down with the flu or something."

Viv stood near the counter and continued looking at Ruby as she freshened up. She leaned her hip against the counter and asked, "Does Martin know?"

Ruby looked up and to her credit managed to look like she was expecting the question. "No, I found out the morning I got back to Washington. Then I got the call about this case and the victim having Samantha's name and, well, there just hasn't been a good time." She paused and turned to face Viv. "Besides, how do you tell the man you've been dating for less than five months, 'You know how contraceptives are 99 percent effective? Welcome to that 1 percent.' Hallmark doesn't make that card."

"Well, if you keep getting sick he's going to figure out something's wrong."

She nodded and a little later said, "I profile for a living and I have no idea how he is going to take the news. It's not like we planned this, we don't even live in the same city."

Viv sighed and while she liked Ruby she somehow always thought that Martin and Sam would get back together somewhere down the line. But now, it seemed impossible. If she knew Martin as well as she thought she did, he would want to do the right thing and get married. She looked back at Ruby and asked, "Do you love him?"

With a small smile she softly replied, "Yeah, I do."

Viv grinned and replied, "Martin's a good guy and I think he is going to be pretty happy when you tell him."

Ruby lowered her eyes and softly said, "I really hope you're right."

Viv heard the bathroom door click open and both she and Ruby turned to see Sam enter. Sam looked back and forth between them curiously. Viv felt her heart ache for Sam when she finds out about Martin becoming a father.

"Hey, what's up?" Sam asked walking closer. "You okay Viv?"

Viv smiled at her concern. "I'm fine, I just needed a little bathroom break."

Ruby looked visibly nervous at having just confessed something extremely private to Viv only to have the ex-girlfriend walk in the room. She moved to leave. "Okay, I'm just going to head back. Thanks Viv."

"No problem," Viv replied as Ruby gave Sam a little nod goodbye and walked out of the ladies room. She noticed that Sam's eyes followed her out before turning back to look at her.

"You sure you're okay, Viv?" Sam asked as she rubbed her arm.

With a heavy sigh, Viv took Sam's hand off her arm, held it in her hands and said, "Actually, no, I'm not. It's time for me to give up my desk."


	19. Chapter 19

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"_Breaking up is a natural evolution when you try to figure out what you want in life. If you're with an individual who isn't moving in the same direction and at the same rate that you are, it ain't going to work."- Usher_

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Chapter 19

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Sam wandered back into the bullpen, her mind still reeling from Viv's news. She felt completely crushed to learn that Viv wouldn't be here anymore. She hadn't realized how precious Viv's friendship was to her. Viv held her secrets and she held some of Viv's as well. She was the one who got her through her break-up with Jack and helped her pick up the pieces afterwards. She needed Viv – she was her touchstone.

Danny and Paul were huddled on one end of the conference table while Martin sat on the opposite side looking back and forth between two stacks of records.

She walked up behind Martin as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. She touched his shoulder and felt a shock of static electricity that went straight to her heart. He looked up at her and laughed, "Been dragging your feet across carpet again?"

"You caught me." She folded her arms and asked, "So, any updates I should know about?"

"Yeah, the tox screen came back on Teri. It seems our killer snuck up on her and knocked her out before tying her up. The M.E. found traces of chloroform in her nostrils and lungs," Martin replied; studying her to see how she reacted to the news.

"Okay, is that all?" She asked calmly.

"Yeah, that's it."

Sam pointed to the files and asked, "Need any help?"

He looked at her for a beat before replying, "Yeah, these are the employment records for Josh Abrams. He works at ComTech now. I'm cross checking them against George Whitmore. He was dating the third victim, Louisa Franklin." She took the seat near him and he scooted his chair closer. She could smell the fading scent of his aftershave and hazy memories passed through her mind. "I've gone through about half of the list and there are no matches so far."

They began scrolling and cross checking names when out of the corner of her eye she saw Viv walking to Jack's office. Martin's eyes followed her gaze and he gently asked, "Have you talked to Viv?"

Sam swallowed and turned to look into his warm blue eyes. "Yeah, I know. She told me." Viv had also told her that Martin already knew since he was with her this morning when she'd had an episode. "What are we going to do without her? I can't imagine her not being here anymore."

He reached over and loosely held her hand, caressing it with his thumb and said, "It's going to be hard but we just have to focus on Viv taking care of herself. I'd rather her not be here at work than not around at all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sam looked down at their hands and felt her heart begin to race.

Martin quickly released his hold and said, "Sorry. I didn't…..sorry."

She immediately missed his touch but looked up at him and said, "Its fine, we're still friends right?"

He looked at her for a long moment before replying, "Yeah, friends."


	20. Chapter 20

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_"A true friend stabs you in the front." - Oscar Wilde _

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Chapter 20

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Viv stood at the window and watched Jack as he shuffled papers around his desk while blowing out frustrated breaths. She shook her head knowing she was going to miss working with that S.O.B. She knocked on the door, leaned into his office and asked, "Jack, do you have a minute?"

He shoved the papers back and said, "For you, Viv, I got five." He gave her a grin and waved her in. "What's up?"

She moved into the room, sat down on the leather chair in front of Jack's desk. She ran her fingers along his nameplate and took a deep breath. "It's time for me to start taking disability leave."

Jack stared at her for a moment before turning his focus to the wall behind her. He was silent for a few beats before stammering out reasons she should stay. "Um….. You know, Viv, we can adjust your hours, maybe do part-time if you need to take it easier."

"No, Jack, it's time." Viv tilted her head and gently added, "But thank you for offering, it means a lot."

Jack rubbed his hand on his chin. "What are you going to do?"

"Oh, you know, enjoy being a woman of leisure: eat Bon Bon's, watch soap operas, order stuff on the home shopping network," Viv kidded.

"Right, maybe take up knitting?" he said with a small smile. He leaned forward on his desk and absentmindedly played with his wedding ring. He looked at her like he was trying to figure out some way to fix her, some way to negotiate her way to wellness. But they both knew that it was out of their hands. He lowered his eyes, speaking in a gentle but controlled voice. "I know we haven't been right since…since I came back." His voice cracked and he swallowed. "I just want you to know how sorry I am that I did what I did. That I took the job back after it was yours. I was desperate and I didn't know of any other way to try and get custody of my daughters."

Viv sat up straighter and cleared her throat. "I won't lie and tell you that I'm not still a little pissed off at you, Jack." He shifted in his seat like a schoolboy who was about to get his hands smacked with a ruler. An image of herself dressed as a mother superior flashed through her mind but she resisted the urge to smile. "However, considering the hand that I've been dealt it seems God had a divine plan after all. I never could have done the job once I got sick and we would have ended up with someone else running the unit. If it had to be someone else I am glad that it was you."

Jack's expression softened and with a shaky voice asked, "Who's going to keep me in line, Viv? Remind me when I'm being an ass?"

She gave a slow smile and answered, "If you ever need a reminding feel free to call me. I'd be more than happy to oblige."


	21. Chapter 21

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_"Fate chooses your relations, you choose your friends."- Jacques Delille_

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Chapter 21

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Danny sat at his desk re-reading some of the previous case files hoping to find some kind of connection. He and Paul went through their stacks and didn't find one link worth investigating so Paul called it a day. Same for the others; Martin went off in search of Ruby and Sam had headed home about fifteen minutes ago.

He looked over and saw that Viv was still in Jack's office. He didn't know what they were talking about but the fact that she had been in there for a little over an hour didn't make him feel confident that they were talking about something good.

He yawned and needing a break he pulled out his cell phone. She answered on the second ring.

"Hey, babe," Emma said in a soft lilting voice.

"How are things at the ER tonight?" he asked as he leaned back on his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.

"Finally settling down, we had a multiple car crash earlier but we're okay now." Emma yawned on her end of the line.

"You sound sleepy," Danny commented bemusedly.

"That's because I am." She yawned again and added. "I can't believe you're not, you got as much sleep as I did."

Danny smiled and said, "I am but just thinking about last night has rejuvenated me."

Emma laughed. "Well, enjoy the reminiscing because tonight I am doing nothing but sleeping."

"Okay," he replied disbelieving.

"I mean it. Just sleep."

"I said okay," he replied firmly before adding, "So what are you wearing right now?"

"You're terrible and I am hanging up right now," she replied with annoyance before purring, "I'm wearing scrubs with nothing underneath so that when I get home I can just take them off and….go to sleep."

And then she hung up.

Danny laughed and was still grinning when Viv walked back into the bullpen.

She took one look at him and said, "You look like the cat that swallowed the canary."

He followed her with his eyes and replied, "Meow."

She gave him a small smile and sat down at the conference table. He got a worried feeling and maneuvered out of his chair and walked to where she sat. "Something wrong Viv?"

"Come here and sit down. I want to talk to you." Viv gestured to the chair and pushed it back to make room.

Wordlessly, Danny sat down, keeping his eyes on his friend.

She cleared her throat and softly said, "It seems that today was my last day. I've talked to Jack and I am going to begin disability leave tomorrow." She studied his reaction and when he just looked at her blankly she patted his knee to urge him to say something.

He didn't know what to say; he wanted to beg her not to go but he knew that would the most selfish thing he could do. She wasn't leaving because she wanted to but because she had no other choice. But he considered the team his family – in fact, in some respects they were. He knew he could count on them and when he had a problem they were the ones he could turn to. When he was looking for Rafi they proved that; Martin helped keep him in line and stood by his side the entire time, Sam helped out by pursuing any possible leads, Jack let him do it on his own but kept him honest, and Viv, well she was there when he needed a friend to turn to when the temptation to drown his sorrows almost proved too great. Plus, he didn't want to lose anymore members of his family.

"Hey, Danny," Viv pulled him out of his thoughts and reached over to give him a big hug. "While I'm not going to be here everyday, you can still visit me whenever you want."

"Yeah, well, I plan to, but you better be careful," he replied as he squeezed her tight. "You know I can't resist you in your bathrobe."

Viv laughed and moved out of the embrace. She looked at him for a moment before tilting her head towards her desk and asked, "Help me clean out my desk?"

"I'll do it but I won't like it," he replied.

"That makes two of us." Viv stood up and headed to her desk with Danny following behind.


	22. Chapter 22

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"_For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.'" - John Greenleaf Whittier_

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Chapter 22

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"Sorry, I'm late," Martin apologized as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Milo was whining and whimpering at being forced to wait an extra hour for his evening walk. Although, he was fairly certain that the whining had more to do with the dog needing to pee more than getting out for some physical exercise. He grabbed the leash off the coat rack and turned to Ruby. "I'm just going to take Milo out. Do you want me to pick up something to eat?"

She gave him a pensive look before saying, "Actually, I'll go for a walk with you. I could use some fresh air."

"Great." Milo started pulling to the door with increasing urgency. "We better go now."

As soon as they hit the sidewalk outside of Martin's building Milo made a mad dash to the first parking meter he spotted and lifted his leg in glee. Martin turned to look at Ruby who was quiet the entire ride back to his apartment. "You okay? You're pretty quiet tonight, are you thinking about the case?"

"No, well, not entirely." She gave him a tentative smile.

"So what is it then?" he asked as Milo started pulling him forward ready to do some actual walking. Martin reached out and grabbed her hand to tug her along. It was a nice April evening, the air was relatively cool and the sidewalks weren't too crowded.

They walked hand in hand until Ruby cleared her throat and said, "Martin, I have to tell you something and I am not sure how to say it."

He suddenly felt very nervous and his throat went dry. He was certain that she was going to break up with him. Did she see him holding Sam's hand? He panicked and quickly blurted out, "I can explain what happened – it was because Viv told us that she is leaving."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked confused.

He squinted at her and asked, "What are you talking about?"

She lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. She lifted her head, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I'm pregnant."

He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Milo to jerk to a halt ahead of him. "What did you say?"

"I'm pregnant," she repeated.

Martin's mouth gaped open and he just looked at her in disbelief.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Ruby asked and Martin realized that this was the first time he ever heard her sound needy or insecure.

"Um, how long?" he stammered out.

She turned and looked down the street ahead and replied, "I don't know exactly but my guess is seven weeks or so."

"Oh," he said as he thought back and mentally calculated that was around the time she came to New York for a visit.

Ruby stood there studying his face before releasing her hold on his hand and said, "Look, I can see you don't look really pleased to hear this….don't worry, I'll..."

He immediately recognized how badly he reacted and the clear disappointment in her face as he reached out to grab her hand back. "I'm sorry, I'm just….you took me by surprise." He pulled her into an embrace and she leaned her head into his shoulder. "This is good news; a huge surprise but still good news."

Ruby relaxed into his embrace and mumbled into his shoulder, "Surprise is an understatement. I'm 33 years old and I have to tell my parents that I got knocked up."

"Well, we could tell them we are getting married first," he said before he even realized the words had left his mouth.

Ruby pulled back and looked up into his eyes as if searching to see if he was sincere or just doing the noble, if a bit old fashioned, thing. "Are you serious?"

"Um, yeah, I mean, we both said that we wanted to get married and have kids someday. So we got the cart before the horse," Martin rationalized.

"We don't even live in the same city."

"I know. We'll figure something out. Look we don't have to decide right this minute but I want you to think about it."

Ruby just shook her head. "I don't know Martin. I don't want you to wake up one day and feel like I somehow tricked you into marrying me. Don't ask unless you really mean it."

He pulled her back and said, "I do mean it."

She looked at him for a long minute before she finally replied, "Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated.

"Okay, let's get married," Ruby said as she leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips. "Make an honest woman of me."

"Okay," Martin replied with a light laugh as he held her close. They stayed like that for a moment before Milo started yanking on his leash, urging them to start moving again.

As they began walking Ruby turned to him and asked, "What were you talking about earlier? What can you explain?"

"Oh, that, I thought maybe you were jealous that I was hugging Viv today," he lied.

Ruby looked at him like she didn't quite believe him but decided to let it drop and just continue walking. He was grateful that she didn't press him because he had so many thoughts running through his head. Here he was, he had everything he said he wanted: a beautiful woman in his life, a baby on the way, a great dog and yet it didn't feel the way he thought it would. Because underneath it all there was the little voice in the back of his head reminding him that it wasn't with Sam. But then that was only because she didn't want those things so he should be happy that he was with someone who did.


	23. Chapter 23

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"_Trying to forget someone you love is like trying to remember someone you never knew." - Anonymous_

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Chapter 23

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As they sat in a beautiful expensive restaurant Sam tried to focus on what Seth was saying but her mind kept replaying the events of the day. How much she looked like the women that were killed, what Teri's life might have been like after she had run away, Ruby's undeniable presence, Viv's leaving, and the soft warm feel of Martin's hand in hers.

"Hello? Earth to Sam?" Seth waved his hand in front of her face, bringing her back into the present.

"Sorry, I guess I kind of spaced out." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Sorry."

He smiled and held her hand tightly in his and replied, "That's okay. I guess a new product line of inhalers isn't fascinating to everyone. Let's talk about you, how was your day?"

She offered him a smile trying to ignore the voice in her head that was comparing Seth's hand to Martin's. "The case has become even more complicated but we're hoping that some new leads will turn up soon."

"I guess it was pretty creepy to find out the dead woman had your same name, huh?" Seth casually commented.

"Yeah, creepy," she replied. While she trusted Seth she didn't see any reason to concern him about the fact that she matched the description of the women killed or the kinship she had felt with Teri.

"Seth? Is that you man?"

Sam turned around to see who was speaking and saw a short, stocky man with a receding hairline walking to their table.

Seth stood up and the two men shared that half hug/handshake of old friends. "Doug, man you look great." He turned and introduced his friend. "Doug Willis, this is Samantha Spade. Samantha, this is my old frat brother, Doug Willis."

"Nice to meet you," she greeted as she reached out to shake his hand. She cringed when Doug placed his hand over hers and looked at her entirely too affectionately for someone she just met.

"It is very nice to meet you Samantha Spade," he oozed.

Fortunately, Seth noticed that she did not find Doug's flirtation very endearing and he grabbed Doug by the shoulder so that he had to break his grip on her hand. Sam gave Seth an appreciative grin as Doug and Seth rambled on about whatever it was two old frat boys talk about.

Her attention was drifting in and out of the conversation until Doug said something that caught her ear. "Yeah, so I am doing a job over at Broadnet for a few months and they gave me a sweet set up at the Hilton. Check it out: two bedrooms, a view…"

"Excuse me, Doug?" Sam interrupted.

Doug turned to look at her with a big grin and said, "Yeah, sweetie?"

She ignored his sexiest term and asked, "What do you do exactly?"

She could practically see his ego swell that she was interested in his work. "I contract out for different technology security firms. I go in and check to see if their systems have any weaknesses, firewalls that don't work, stuff like. Then I go in and patch them."

"So, since you are freelance I'm guessing you wouldn't show up on their payroll or employment records either, right?"

Doug looked at her like she was asking if he had a tail but he replied, "I don't see why I would, why?"

Sam processed this little bit of information and stood up quickly. "I'm sorry, Seth but I have to go." She gave him a quick kiss before heading out. "Nice meeting you Doug."

She rushed outside and quickly hailed a cab. She needed to get back to the office and find out if any of those companies contracted through a security firm because something in her gut told her that was how they were going to find their killer.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

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Sam's heels clicked loudly on the marble floor as she made her way across the lobby. It was past 10:00 pm so she was unable to find anyone to provide her a list of employees but since her hunch told her she was on a hot lead she decided to pay a visit to the front desk of the company where she was certain someone could give her some names. She had considered just calling but she knew that she was most likely to get results if she showed up in the flesh.

She may be blonde but she wasn't dumb.

"Hi." She smiled brightly at the guard. He looked like a shorter, overweight version of Tom Selleck. "I'm Special Agent Samantha Spade and I'd like to ask you a few questions," she glanced at his nametag, "Rusty. If that's alright."

She showed Rusty her badge but he pretty much ignored it, keeping his focus on her. Obviously he wasn't going to make Security Guard of the Year.

"What can I do for you, Special Agent Samantha Spade?" Rusty replied with enthusiasm and interest.

Sam leaned over the desk and in her best flirtatious voice said, "I need some help. I'm looking for a woman who might have done some temporary work here. She was probably only here for a little while so maybe you had to log here in everyday or give her a temporary pass." She gave a light laugh. "Does this ring any bells?"

"Well, if she wasn't a permanent employee we would have assigned her a general visitor pass but she would have had to sign in daily."

Sam rang her fingers over the faux wood counter and asked, "Any chance I could look at those logs?"

Rusty gave her a dubious glance before reaching over and pulling out a binder. "Do you have a name?"

"No." Sam recalled how Ruby described their UNSUB in her profile. "But she was probably really quiet, kept to herself; maybe even a little mousey looking."

"Oh, that would be Eleanor Jones," Rusty replied. "That pretty much describes her alright. She wouldn't be half bad if she had a personality. If she didn't have to sign in everyday I probably wouldn't have ever noticed her."

Sam wrote the name down in her notepad. "Do you have an address?"

"The company usually puts people up at The Regency but I might have it in the contact log. Hang on." Rusty pulled out another binder and scanned through the pages. "I have her marked down as staying at The Regency in Room 7310. According to this, tomorrow is her last day so she should still be checked in."

"Thank you so much Rusty." Sam flashed him a great big grin. "You've been a huge help."

"No problem Agent Spade," Rusty replied with a wide grin.

As soon as Sam reached the bureau car she pulled out her cell phone to call Jack and let him know what she was doing but the battery was dead. And this time she couldn't blame this one on Seth. Cursing that she didn't bring the car charger with her she decided to go straight to the hotel and call Jack from a payphone in the lobby.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

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Sam walked into the hotel and scanned the lobby for a payphone. She didn't realize that in the age of cell phones how scarce phone booths had become. She considered going to ask the front desk if she could use one of theirs but there was a group of about thirty Japanese businessmen surrounding the desk so she ruled that out.

She wandered into the bar – surely there had to be a phone there. The music was loud and the bass was pounding so hard she could feel its vibrations in her ears. She wandered to the restrooms and spotted a payphone between the men's and ladies rooms.

"Malone," Jack answered.

"Jack, it's me Sam," she said into the phone, sticking a finger in her ear to try and still some of the noise.

"Sam? I can barely hear you. Where are you?"

She crouched into the corner of the phone booth and spoke louder hoping he could hear her over the din of the bar noise. "I'm checking out a lead at The Regency."

"You're checking out of The Regency?" Jack said, clearly misunderstanding her.

"No. I. Am. At. The. Regency. Checking. A. Lead." She punctuated each word hoping he would understand her.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I AM AT THE REGENCY. GET OVER HERE!" she yelled, startling a woman exited the ladies room.

"What are you doing there?" Jack asked.

"CHECK..." she began when a man who clearly had too much to drink bumped into her causing her to hang up. He mumbled 'sorry' as he hurried into the men's room. Sam clicked the phone hoping Jack was still there but the line was dead.

She decided that he most likely would head over here so she put the phone back on the receiver and headed out of the bar.

Since it would take Jack about twenty minutes to get here she decided to run upstairs and just listen to see if Eleanor was in her room.

Sam got off on the seventh floor and walked down the hall to room 7310. Her heart started racing when she saw that the door was open and the maid's cart was parked outside. She knocked lightly but didn't wait for an answer and just walked inside. She spotted the maid wiping the bathroom sink and cleared her throat.

The maid looked up and was startled to see her. Sam gestured that she was sorry and the woman began to calm down. "I'm sorry to have startled you."

"It's okay," the maid replied. She had short brown hair and light, pale skin.

Sam waited for her to regain her composure and asked, "Has the woman staying here already checked out?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Do you mind if I look around?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Thanks." Sam walked into the bedroom and saw that it had already had the once over. The bed was made and the room had been straightened up. She was about to turn back around to ask the maid if she ever saw Eleanor when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and fell to the ground.

She was on the floor, disoriented and confused; trying to figure out what had happened when she looked up to see the maid standing above her with a white cloth in her hand.

"I thought I already got rid of you," she said, eyes glaring. Then she quickly knelt down and pressed a white cloth to her face. Sam struggled against her strong grip but knew it was a lost cause when suddenly everything went black.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

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"Sam, where are you?" Jack mumbled under his breath as he searched the lobby again. He had been through the lobby four times and the bar three but there was no sign of Sam anywhere. Paul said the bartender remembered seeing a blonde hanging out near the bathrooms but nothing else. The front desk didn't remember seeing her at all.

He had just finished searching the lobby when Martin and Ruby arrived.

"Any sign of her Jack?" Martin asked as his eyes scanned the crowd.

"No. Are you sure you don't know why she came down here?" Jack asked looking back and forth between Martin and Ruby.

Ruby shook her head but narrowed her eyes looking around for how this hotel might connect to the case as Martin replied, "No. When I last talked to her nothing had turned up on the records. She isn't answering her cell?"

"No. And she isn't home either," Jack replied worriedly. He was kicking himself for not taking more precautions with Sam. Sure she looked like the victim's and Teri used her name but he believed that the murder had no personal connection. He was certain that it was just a coincidence but now he was worried that he may have inadvertently led Sam into harms way.

Martin and Ruby were getting ready to start looking around when Jack's cell phone rang. "Malone."

"Hey, Jack, it's Danny."

"Danny, did you find out anything from Seth?"

"He said that they were having dinner and she just jumped up and said she had to go work. But he did say that she was very interested in what his friend Doug does for a living. Get this, he works for a technology security company that is hired by a company to come in and check their server's security."

"Okay, did she say anything to him about this hotel? Why she came here?"

"No."

"Okay, hold on." Jack put his cell phone against his shoulder and told the them what Danny told him.

Martin looked just as perplexed as he was when Ruby piped up. "What a minute, you said his friend does server security?"

"Yeah."

"What's the name of the company where Josh Abrams works?"

"ComTech," Martin supplied.

"Jack, can you send Danny there? Ask him to talk to security and see if Sam was there earlier asking questions."

"What makes you think Sam went to ComTech?" Jack asked.

"Because that is exactly what I would do." Ruby replied before walking to the front desk. Jack and Martin just exchanged looks before Martin followed after her.

Jack got back on the phone and told Danny to do as she instructed.

Paul was on his own cell phone as he walked up. He folded his phone shut and said, "She's still not answering."

Jack just nodded and he and Paul walked to the front desk just as Martin and Ruby started back.

"Okay, we talked to the front desk," Martin said hurriedly. "ComTech has four suites on reserve for their clientele, guests, etc. Two of the rooms are occupied right now, both by women: Jane Stapleton in room 5015 and Eleanor Jones in 7310."

Ruby looked at Jack and said, "We don't have enough evidence to justify the hotel giving us keys to the rooms but there is no harm in going up to just talk."

He nodded and said, "Paul and I will take Jane, you two can take Eleanor."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

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On the elevator ride up Martin couldn't help but feel that same sense of panic that he felt a year and a half ago when Sam went missing on the Colleen McGrath case. While he reminded himself that they did find Sam last time he was worried that maybe they used up their luck. He reminded himself that Sam will absolutely be found fine for no other reason than she had to be. The world needed Samantha Spade in it.

At least his world did.

"Call me if anything turns up," Jack said as he and Paul exited the elevator to interview Jane in room 5015.

The elevator doors closed and Ruby leaned back against the elevator wall and closed her eyes. Martin looked at her and suddenly felt his heart split in two. The Ruby part reminded him she was the woman in his life and she needed him, too.

"You okay?" he asked.

She held up her finger indicating that she needed a minute. The elevator doors dinged signaling that they had arrived on the seventh floor. The doors slid open and Martin saw that there was a maid with a laundry cart wanting to board.

He stepped closer to Ruby and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine. I just got a dizzy and a little nauseous." Ruby opened her eyes, saw the maid waiting and smiled. "Sorry, I don't know why they call it morning sickness when it happens all the damn time."

The maid smiled at Ruby and moved aside so they could exit. Martin led Ruby out of the elevator, looked at the maid and said, "Thanks."

The maid didn't reply but just gave a small smile and lowered her gaze as she boarded the elevator.

Martin and Ruby walked to the hotel suite at the end of the hall. So far there was no sign of Sam anywhere. He knocked on the door and they waited. He knocked again. No answer. They looked at one another when Ruby reached over and tried the doorknob but it was locked.

"Damn," she muttered as she stared at the door thinking.

Martin's cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Fitzgerald."

"Jane Stapleton didn't see her tonight and I don't think she is our killer. She's 58 years old and has severe arthritis. Any luck on your end?" Jack said.

"If Eleanor is here she's not answering," he replied looking at Ruby who was still focused on the closed door.

"Well, let's head back downstairs and see if the clerk remembers checking her in."

"Okay." Martin clicked off the phone. "Jack wants to regroup downstairs."

"It's Eleanor, Martin." Ruby turned to look at him with a hard, serious expression. "It's her and we need to get in this room."

He looked at her and just knew she was right. So he put his ear up against the door and lied, "Did you hear that?"

She nodded her head, pulled out her weapon and said, "Yes. I do."

He pulled out his own weapon and shouted, "FBI! OPEN THE DOOR!" When the door remained closed Martin stepped back and slammed into the door with his shoulder. It swung wide open and he and Ruby rushed inside.

But the room was empty.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

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Sam woke up with an intense headache. She tightened her eyes against the pain and tried to touch her hand to her head but it wouldn't move. When she opened her eyes she saw that she was tied to a pipe that was bolted to the wall. She yanked her hands on the rope but they had no give. Looking around she saw that she was in a bare room with cement walls and floor. Against one of the walls was a small counter and above her a solitary light bulb hung from a wire.

Shit. Think, Sam, think.

She looked around for something to help break her binds but there was nothing within reach that she could use. She tried twisting her wrists to loosen the binds and maybe wiggle her hands, her skin burning against the ropes. It hurt like hell but she had to keep trying. They started to feel like something was happening when the door swung open and the woman from the hotel stepped inside.

It was then that she realized that the maid was Eleanor Jones.

Eleanor sat crossed legged near Sam but not close enough so she could try and kick her. She was holding Sam's badge in her hand and was staring at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sounding genuinely confused.

Sam looked at her unsure how to respond.

"I asked you a question," she asked again angrily. "What are you doing here? I killed you Teri."

Sam realized that Eleanor thought she was Teri and she was worried that if she didn't get this straightened out, Eleanor might think she needed to kill Teri all over again. She licked her lips and said, "I'm not Teri."

"What do you mean you're not Teri?" she asked as she stared at Sam, a crinkle between her brows. "You look like her."

"I know. I was hoping you could help me figure out why she was impersonating me," Sam said hoping to buy more time.

Eleanor stood up and looked over at where she was slouched, waving her badge. "I found this." She flipped it open and asked, "So you are the real Samantha Spade?"

"Yes," Sam replied. She was relieved that Eleanor did not make the Bogart connection because it would have been really hard to convince her that her name was really hers.

"I see." She studied her ID picture and said, "You're very pretty."

Sam didn't say anything but continued to watch Eleanor trying to discover something about her that she work with, exploit.

"My stepmom was pretty too." Eleanor looked up and her eyes were cold and distant. "But she cheated and lied and it's her fault my dad died." She tossed the badge in the corner of the room.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, hoping to try and show Eleanor that she empathized with her. That she was nothing like her stepmom.

Eleanor's face got hard. "You always say you're sorry when you know you're going to die but I don't believe you. All you do is lie and cheat."

"No, that's not me." Sam swallowed and felt like a traitor when she added, "Teri was the liar and cheater. Not me."

"Why should I believe you're any different?"

"Because I am different; I am faithful and I love my boyfriend. I would never hurt him." Sam tried to keep Eleanor's eyes on her face and remind her that she was human. "He's probably at home worried about me right now."

Eleanor looked at her interested. "What's his name?"

"Martin," Sam replied before she even thought about what she would say. "He's wonderful. I love him so much and I would never, ever hurt him."

"Why should I believe you? You could be lying to try and save yourself," Eleanor said as she stood up and walked to a counter and picked up a white cloth and poured a liquid on it. "After all, that's what women like you do: lie, cheat, hurt. You just cause pain to everyone around you."

She slowly started moving towards her when Sam shouted, "You can see for yourself!"

Eleanor stopped and looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Behind my badge is a picture of us. You can see for yourself how much I love him."

Thankfully, this piqued Eleanor's interest and put the chloroform down so she could walk to the corner and pick up the badge. She opened it up and pulled out two halves of a photo strip. It was the one of Sam and Martin that was taken at the bodega. Sam had kept them after Martin's parents had taken him back to Washington. She had intended to give him his half back but she never did.

"You can see in those photos how much I care about him. You have to see it," Sam pleaded.

Eleanor looked at the photos before she coldly replied, "You're lying."

"I'm not lying!" Sam cried.

"Yes, you are. I saw him at the hotel tonight and he was with another woman; a nice brunette woman. They are in love and they are going to have a baby."

Sam stared at Eleanor. She wanted to think that Eleanor was just crazy and imagining things but for some reason she believed her.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

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The hotel room turned out to be not only completely empty and wiped clean but there wasn't a sign of Eleanor or Sam anywhere. To make matters worse the video camera on the floor where she was staying was also tampered with and never got any footage of her.

Paul was back at the hotel with James reviewing the video footage for the rest of the hotel. He called and said that Sam was there earlier, she had taken the elevator but never came back down. Jack had ordered them to go through all the video while he and the rest of the team went back to the office to try and find out as much as they could about Eleanor Jones.

So far all they were able to find is that she had worked for DataGuard but there was no home address just a PO Box that had been forwarding mail to all the different hotels Eleanor stayed at while working.

"How could she not have a home address?" Martin asked frustrated. He was going through half the countries DMV records while Danny reviewed the other half. They were hoping that at some point in her travels she got one. They needed a picture of her because so far it was almost like she was a ghost.

"If she traveled and lived in hotels for months at a time it is possible that she literally lived out of a suitcase," Ruby replied as she ran searches on Eleanor's name hoping to find some viable connection.

"I got something!" Jack shouted from Viv's desk.

"What do you have?" Martin asked.

"An Eleanor Jones with a matching social security number and date of birth was admitted to New York City's foster care when she was sixteen years old."

"Is there any family listed?" Danny asked.

"No, it's sealed. I'll try some of my contacts at Social Services," Jack said as he reached for the phone.

"Don't need it. I found something too," Ruby announced from Sam's desk. "Eleanor Jones was under investigation for the murder of her stepmother, Brandy Higgins. According to this, Brandy was found dead in her bed of an apparent suicide. She had slit her wrists. The police suspected Eleanor because she was home the entire time and said she never heard a thing."

"Who slits their wrists in their bed? That is usually a bathroom suicide," Danny commented.

"Exactly," Ruby agreed. "And the body showed signs of rigor mortis. She had been dead for almost forty-eight hours before Eleanor called it in. It gets better, check out a photo of the step mother." She scrolled down to reveal a picture of the stepmother: she wore powder blue eye shadow, bright red lipstick and had long blonde hair.

"Why wasn't she charged?" Jack asked.

"It seems when they interviewed her they found out that Brandy had been abusive with Eleanor. She would tie her up in the basement when she misbehaved and cut her. Maybe they felt sorry for her and cut some sort of juvenile deal. The records are sealed."

"What about her father?" Danny asked.

Ruby spun around in her chair and said, "He was killed in a car accident and you get one guess as to who was driving."

"The step mother?" Martin replied.

"You got it."

Martin processed the information as all the pieces began to fit together. But the biggest piece was still missing. Where would Eleanor take Sam?

His computer beeped and he turned to look at the screen to see if any hits had popped up in Washington State and he nearly fell out of his chair when he saw the picture matching the name Eleanor Jones. "Shit."

"What?" Danny asked as he and the others walked over to see what Martin was looking at. "What is it?"

"Martin…" Ruby said from over his shoulder when she saw the image on the monitor.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, mentally screaming and kicking himself.

"Is that her?" Danny asked pointing to the driver's license photo of a pale skinned homely looking girl with short brown hair.

Ruby nodded her head and said, "We saw her at the hotel. She was dressed as a maid and she was wheeling out a laundry cart."

Martin turned around in his chair and added, "She walked right by us and I even told her 'thanks'. Sam was probably in the laundry cart."

He looked at Ruby whose eyes looked as guilty as his probably did. Sam was so close but they didn't even notice.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

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"I'm not lying. I don't know who you saw at the hotel but it wasn't Martin," Sam argued while mentally praying that if Eleanor did see Martin and Ruby at the hotel they have made the connection and were on their way to rescue her.

"Yes you are. Maybe you used to date this man but I know you don't anymore," Eleanor argued back. "Because the man I saw at the hotel doesn't look like a cheater but you do."

Eleanor moved towards Sam with the white rag wanting to knock her out again. When she was within reach Sam kicked her as hard as she could in the knee. Eleanor doubled over and fell to the ground so Sam kicked her again in the chest. She lifted her leg to kick her in the head but Eleanor moved swiftly and grabbed her leg and twisted it hard before lunging for Sam's face. They struggled and since she was still tied up Eleanor was able to overpower her. She tried to hold her breath but the chloroform was too powerful and she lost consciousness once again.

XXXX

"Why was she dressed as a maid?" Danny asked as he searched for more clues as to where Eleanor may have taken Sam.

"That's how she went undetected and no one remembers her," Jack said as he recalled his interview with Lena the maid who found Teri Fuller. "They are easy to ignore, forgettable."

"She preferred to be part of the background," Ruby added. "It was safer and more comfortable."

"Okay, I found something," Martin shouted. "Eleanor's father left her the house and the building where he ran a printing company. It went out of business shortly after he died but it's abandoned and the title is still in her name."

"Ruby and I will take the house, Danny you go with Martin to the business," Jack directed. Danny wondered why Jack would separate Ruby and Martin when it occurred to him that Sam would probably prefer to not be found by the two of them together.

XXXXXXX

Sam's head felt heavy and muddled but she somehow managed to open her eyes. But when she saw where she was, for a split second she wished she was still unconscious. Eleanor had moved her out of the basement into a room with a steel framed bed in the center of the room.

She looked down and Eleanor had stripped her down to her underwear. She was grateful that she wasn't entirely nude but she never felt more vulnerable in her life. Eleanor was nowhere in sight so Sam pulled as hard as she could to try and wrestle out of the ropes. She yanked and pulled until her wrists were red and raw.

"You can do that all you want, it won't do you any good." Eleanor's voice was calm and detached, sending a chill up Sam's spine. She came to stand next to her and pulled out a serrated blade that gleamed in the light. "It's time for you to pay for your sins."

"No, Eleanor, you know I am a federal agent. My team is looking for me. Martin is an agent too. So you know they are already searching the hotel. They are going to find out it's you doing the killing." Sam's mind raced trying to think of any way possible to stall for time. _Hurry up, Martin. You made it last time, you can do it again. _"It's not too late, Eleanor. If you let me go I can tell them to be more lenient on you."

"I've rid the world of six women who I know deserved to die. But I'm not a fool. There is no such thing as leniency if I am convicted."

"No, Eleanor. I can…"

Eleanor moved forward and even though Sam was tied to the bed her survival instincts kicked in and she tried to move as far away as she could. But no matter how much she jerked away, it was Eleanor who was in control.

She stuck a rag in Sam's mouth to silence her. Her heart began to thunder in her chest and she couldn't help but cry. Tears pooled in her eyes making it difficult to focus on what Eleanor was about to do but the moment the knife cut her thigh the rag in her mouth stifled her screams.

It was when Eleanor made the second cut that Sam thought maybe Martin wouldn't make it in time.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

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"This is it," Danny said as he parked the car in front of the abandoned warehouse.

Martin was out of the car before Danny had even taken the key out of the ignition. He hurried to the front door and yanked it open with such force that it made a loud clanking sound. He was certain that it would be locked so he was caught by surprise and stumbled back. When he regained his composure he glanced at Danny. The fact that the door was open was a big indicator that Eleanor was here – and so was Sam.

He just prayed that he wasn't too late as he and Danny moved into the building.

XXXX

Sam heard the loud noise from below and looked at Eleanor who obviously heard it as well because she jerked away and dashed to the doorway, her ears listening intently.

_Martin, please let it be you_.

Eleanor slammed the door shut and hurried back to Sam. "Someone's here, we have to hurry." With the blade in her hand she reached for Sam's wrist.

XXXX

Martin and Danny heard a door close and darted up the stairs to seek out its source. Thankfully there was only one closed door on the second floor and they rushed to it.

He reached it first. He kicked it in and they stormed inside in time to find Eleanor about to slit Sam's wrist. She had just started the incision when they entered, a trickle of blood trailed down Sam's arm.

"FBI FREEZE! DROP THE KNIFE ELEANOR!"

"DROP IT OR WE WILL SHOOT!"

Eleanor looked straight at Martin and said, "She isn't worth it." as she started to cut.

They both fired and Eleanor slumped down to the ground.

Danny went to check Eleanor to see if she was still alive while Martin rushed to Sam.

He carefully removed the rag from Sam's mouth and gently said, "Its okay, Sam. I'm here."

In the background, he heard Danny on his cell phone calling for paramedics. "I need EMTs, we have one deceased female and an injured agent….."

Sam didn't say anything but just watched him as he moved to untie her wrists. As soon as he was done he took off his jacket and covered her with it. Then he untied her ankles and looked back over at her. He gently brushed the hair away from her face and helped her sit up. She was watching him the entire time and as she sat up she grabbed him tightly around the neck and wept. Martin put his arms around her and just held her as she cried whispering, "Shh….it's okay, I'm here. You're safe now."


	32. Chapter 32

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"_You don't die from a broken heart - you only wish you did." - Anonymous_

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Chapter 32

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"Hey," Martin said as he entered the exam room.

"Hey," Sam replied. The doctor's said most of the cuts were superficial so he just stitched them up but they were more concerned on the aftereffects of the chloroform. So she was going to stay in the hospital overnight and go home in the morning.

"I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were okay," he said softly as he walked over and stood next to her bed.

"As good as can be expected," Sam softly replied as she reached out to hold Martin's hand. "I guess we can add this to the list of times I owe you for saving my life."

"You don't owe me a thing." Martin's expression fell and he quietly said, "I passed Eleanor in the hotel. If I had just noticed her or had instincts worth a damn I would have known….and you wouldn't have had to go through what happened."

"How could you have known? Besides, it was dumb of me to go check Eleanor out on my own," she tenderly replied. "You got there in time, that's all that matters."

They stayed there looking at one another for a moment when Sam decided to just ask the question that she wouldn't have the courage to if she waited for the drugs to wear off. Focusing on Martin's hand in hers, she said, "Eleanor said she saw you and Ruby at the hotel. She was under the impression that Ruby was pregnant."

Sam kept her eyes on Martin's fingers but when he didn't say anything she knew she had her answer. She released her hold, brought her hand to rest on her chest and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh." Tears welled in her eyes. "When you said you wanted the wife and kids you certainly didn't waste any time did you?"

"Sam, I never…" he began before she waved him off.

"Please don't say anything." She wiped the tears away before they had a chance to roll down her cheeks. "I just don't think I could take it. Please just go."

He didn't walk away. He just stood three not saying anything. She never knew that silence could be so loud that it was almost deafening. Martin remained standing by her side for a long time and she knew that he still wanted to talk but thankfully a minute later she heard Seth's booming voice.

"Samantha, thank god you are alright." Seth appeared at her side and she was able to focus on him. He kissed her forehead and looked at her face. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Sam lied. "Better now that you are here."

Seth looked at Martin and said, "Thanks for saving my girl."

"Yeah…Um, I'm going to head out. Goodbye, Sam," Martin said in a voice so tender that her heart clenched but she still refused to look at him. "Take care of her Seth."

"Absolutely," Seth replied as Martin walked out of the room. He looked back at her and asked, "Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head and anxious to not cry in front of him tried to deflect. "I'm sorry I ran out on you earlier."

"I guess you had a good excuse," he replied with a smile. He sat down at the chair by her side and said, "Although, Doug made me have dinner with him instead. He may be an old friend but he was as boring as I remember. I had to listen to his in depth perspective of the use of LINUX."

Seth laughed lightly so Sam did the same even though she felt like she was dying inside. She realized that while Martin had really moved on with his life all this time she had been standing still.


	33. Chapter 33

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"_The heart was made to be broken." - __Oscar Wilde_

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Chapter 33

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_One month later…._

Martin headed to the arrival gate at Ronald Reagan National Airport when he saw a lovely looking brunette holding up a sign that read, "FITZGERALD, M."

"Gate pick-up, I love it," Martin commented as he leaned forward to kiss Ruby hello. "You didn't have to come. I could've taken a cab."

She smiled and replied, "Actually, I have an ulterior motive. I'm hoping to convince you to elope to Las Vegas."

"The wedding planning going that well is it?" Martin asked with a smile. That was actually the reason for this visit.

Ruby pursed her lips and said, "249."

"'249'?" Martin repeated.

She nodded. "That's the number of guests…"

"Well, that's less than I thought…"

"That my mother wants to invite on my side." Ruby continued. "Your mother's list totals 234."

"That's almost 500 people," Martin said in disbelief.

"Yup, our small intimate wedding of just close friends and family has now become the social event of the season," Ruby bemoaned before cheerily urging him on. "So, let's just elope. I hear they have chapels in Las Vegas where you can just drive-up."

"I don't know, I think if you are going to promise to love and cherish someone 'til death do you part you should at least get out of the car." Martin grinned and pulled her close. "Besides, reinforcements have arrived. There are two of us against them now."

"That's easy for you to say, you just got here. Our mothers are formidable. I've been dealing with all of this while you have been safely hidden in New York." Ruby grinned as she leaned in close. "And the wedding is just a part of it. Everyone wants to know what our plans are; where are we going to live, etc.?"

Martin stepped back and started moving them down the hall towards short term parking. "Actually, I've been thinking about that. I think I should transfer here."

She slowed down and looked at him. "I thought you said you never wanted to live in Washington again."

"I know I did but my entire family is here and so is yours most of the time. It just makes more sense for me to come here." Martin rationalized. "I can talk to my dad and put some of that nepotism I keep hearing about to work."

Ruby smiled but shook her head. "I don't know, Martin. I think we should discuss it a little more. I feel like you have to make all the changes and maybe you need to think about it further."

"Okay, let's go back to your place and we can discuss that as well as this wedding business." Martin grinned as they headed down the hall. "I was thinking that Milo could be the ring bearer."

Ruby just looked at him and laughed.


	34. Chapter 34

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"_Don't find love, let love find you. That's why it's called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just do." - Unknown_

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Chapter 34

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As Danny leaned over to pick-up after Milo, Emma just smiled at him and said, "I hope this is a good indicator of how you are with kids."

He gave her a playful dirty look and tossed the little baggy in the trash receptacle. "I've changed diapers and I know for a fact that a dog is easier to clean up after."

Emma smiled and said, "Then maybe we should get a dog."

"Let's see how this weekend goes with dog-sitting Milo and go from there," he replied as he slung his arm over Emma's shoulders.

"Good point," she replied as she wrapped an arm around his waist leaving the other hand free to hold Milo's leash. "I have to admit, Milo is a pretty easy dog to take care of."

They continued a late evening walk around the block from Emma's apartment. They walked along the sidewalk at a leisurely pace, just chatting and looking at the city around them.

"I can't believe Martin is marrying Ruby and that they're having a baby," Danny said after a few blocks. "Ruby is great but I thought Martin and Sam were always going to get back together eventually."

"I know but they wanted different things," Emma consoled. "Just be happy that Martin is with someone that you do like, even if it isn't the woman you thought he should have ended up with. I really like Ruby, too."

"I guess," he said. "Sam's not taking it well. She says she's fine with it but anytime anyone congratulates Martin or mentions Ruby's name you should see her face. It's just so sad."

"Well, I guess she was holding out hope for them eventually too."

They walked a bit further when Danny said, "You know, we are coming up on our one year anniversary."

She grinned and said, "Yup. Should we do something special to celebrate? Maybe take a trip?"

"That sounds like a good idea," he said as they stopped to wait to cross the street. "Where should we go?"

"Hmm…someplace with a beach and warm water," Emma replied dreamily.

"Well, there's Hawaii, the Caribbean…" Danny began listing the places where he and Emma could vacation. He wanted to pick someplace perfect because he had a very important question to ask her.


	35. Chapter 35

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"_The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love." - Hubert Humphrey _

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Chapter 35

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The ringing of the phone jostled Marcus and Viv from their sleep. When she was an active agent it wasn't such a surprise but since she took her leave it was a nerve wracking sound in the middle of the night.

Marcus fumbled for the phone and his voice sounded rough from sleep. "Hello? Yes. What?"

Viv yanked the oxygen cord so that it wouldn't tug so hard when she rolled over to look at Marcus. She softly asked, "Who is it?"

Marcus' eyes were focused on her as he said into the phone. "We'll be there as fast as we can." Marcus clicked the phone off, looked right at her and said, "That was Dr. Marsh. They have a heart for you."

She was so stunned she couldn't speak.

"Baby, did you hear me? There's a heart available for you! We have to get to the hospital right away." Marcus jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. He went to the closet and brought out an outfit for her as well as her emergency hospital suitcase. "I'm going to going wake up Reggie. Can you get dressed by yourself?"

Viv nodded slowly as the shock was starting to wear off. She got out of out of bed just as Marcus headed towards Reggie's room.

She was going to get heart. She was offered a chance at continuing to live. She was given this extraordinary gift but she couldn't help but feel sad at the cost. Somewhere someone was grieving while here in her house it was a cause for celebration.

Viv began to feel consumed by those thoughts when she decided to take her own advice and put it in a box and focus on the fact that she just might dance at her son's wedding after all. She slowly began getting dressed when Marcus rushed back into the bedroom.

"Reggie's getting dressed," Marcus announced. "Do you need some help?"

Viv stopped buttoning her blouse and replied, "Yes."

As Marcus finished helping her get ready Viv said a silent prayer for the poor soul who lost their life tonight and thanked them for their final and incredible act of generosity.

"Okay, let's go," Marcus said.

Viv hugged Marcus tightly and whispered, "I love you." in his ear before adding, "Okay, now let's go."

XXXX

"Any word yet Jack?" Danny asked as he walked into the waiting room.

"No, not yet," Jack replied as he leaned back it the chair. "Hi Emma."

"Hi, Jack," she replied as she and Danny sat down across from Jack and Sam.

Marcus called Jack from the hospital once they started prepping Viv for surgery. He called all of the team to tell them what was going one. The only one he wasn't able to reach was Martin. But he was in Washington planning his wedding so he decided he would just call him a little later in the morning when he knew more. No sense worrying him since he was not even in town.

Sam had arrived about a half-hour after he called her and sat there waiting right next to him. He called Paul but he was watching his nephews and couldn't get down to the hospital but said he would pray and to please call him as soon as she was out of surgery.

Glancing around, Jack knew everyone's minds were spinning but no one spoke. They just sat and waited and prayed.

After a few hours, Emma had to excuse herself to go home to walk Milo and get ready for her shift. She gave everyone hugs and said she would check in whenever she could and asked Danny to call her if he hears anything.

As soon as she was gone they all returned to their seats and continued to wait.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

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Danny walked back into the waiting area and handed out cups of coffee to everyone. He bought a hot chocolate for Reggie but he was still asleep on the sofa so he placed it on the coffee table next to him for later.

"Did you get a hold of Martin?" Sam asked as she took her cup.

"I got his voicemail. He told me that they were all going out on the boat so I might've missed him. I'm guessing he was out of range." Danny sipped his coffee and added, "I left him a message to call me when he gets back."

He saw that Sam was about to ask him another question when a doctor in scrubs walked into the waiting area. Marcus stood straight up and eyed the doctor with a nervous look on his face.

They all waited with bated breath until the doctor said the words, "Success."

Viv was going to be okay.

XXXX

After everyone hugged and cheered, Danny excused himself and went off in search of Emma. He wanted to share this fabulous news with the woman he loved.

When he entered the ER he spotted, Frances, a nurse who knew him well from all of the many times he visited Emma. She would always crack jokes with him and he thought she was hilarious. She was standing with someone who looked like an EMT. He walked up to her and cheerily said, "Hi, Frances. Is Emma around?"

Frances gave him a sad look and replied, "Hi, Danny. She's in the break room."

"You okay?" Danny asked. She looked like someone ran over her cat.

"I'm okay. Thanks." She swallowed and asked, "How's your friend? Emma told us she had surgery."

"She's great. She just got out and the doctor's said it was a huge success."

"That's wonderful news," Frances replied, continuing to look at him with weepy eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay, Frances?" he asked again, genuinely concerned.

"I'm good. You better go see Emma before she has to get back to work," Frances directed.

He gave her another look before nodding his head and walking to the break room.

When he opened the door he saw Emma sitting on the sofa with her head in her hands. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and slowly made his way towards her. As he neared he asked softly, "Babe, what's wrong?"

Emma looked up surprised to see him. She wiped tears away from her eyes. "Hey, how's Viv? Is she out of surgery?"

"She's great," he replied as he hurried to sit next to her. He put his arm around her. "The doctor's said she's going to be good as new. But what's going on? Why are you crying?" He wiped tears off of her cheeks. "Something happen with a patient?"

Emma took a deep breath and turned to look at him; tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I have to tell you something and I don't know how to say it."

Danny grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "You can tell me anything."

She nodded her head and blew out a breath. Then in a soft, tender voice she said, "Danny, the heart that Viv received….it was Ruby's."


	37. Chapter 37

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"_It takes a couple seconds to say Hello, but forever to say Goodbye."- __Anonymous_

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Chapter 37

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"What do mean, 'it was Ruby's'?" Danny asked as the world around him went blurry. He tried to keep his focus on Emma. "What do you know? How do you know?"

Emma cleared her throat and began, "Frances' brother is the one who delivered the heart to the hospital. When I came down for my shift I heard him talking about delivering a heart for an agent that was donated by another agent in Washington."

"I thought it was supposed to be anonymous," he said more bluntly than he intended.

"It is, and I told him that he shouldn't be talking about it. Then he told me that this heart was not going to be an anonymous donation because the donor's family selected Vivian specifically." Emma wiped tears away and continued, "I asked him if he knew the name of the donor but he didn't. I got worried because I knew that you hadn't been able to reach Martin so I asked him which hospital he flew in from and called to see what I could find out from my friend, Claudia, who works there. She just called me back a few minutes ago. She told me that the donor's name was Ruby Carmichael and that she was in a car accident with her fiancée and sustained massive brain trauma declaring her legally brain dead."

Danny swallowed as tears began to form. "How's Martin?"

"She said he's fine, that he had some minor cuts and bruises but he was examined and released." Emma squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry."

He looked at the coffee machine percolating on the counter as he tried to process what she just told him. He could not imagine what Martin must be going through right now. He was so happy when he dropped Milo off at Emma's and now he lost his entire new family in one night.

"Danny?"

He looked back over at Emma, her tears seemingly endless. "I was just thinking about Martin. I can't imagine how he is dealing with all of this."

Emma nodded sorrowfully and wrapped her arms around him.

"I think I should go tell Jack and Sam. They would want to know," Danny said when it occurred to him that Viv didn't know either and it would be so hard on her when she found out. "Can I tell Marcus?"

"Claudia told me that the family asked that Viv and her family not be told until after the surgery so I guess you can be the one to tell them. Better you than a stranger," Emma replied as she wiped her face. "Do you want to go up right now?"

"In a minute," he said as he leaned back on the sofa and held Emma tightly to him. "I just want to sit here for a little while."

XXXX

Danny walked into the waiting area and saw Jack and Sam talking as they gathered their belongings. Sam held her arms up above her and stretched while laughing at something Jack said. They both turned to look to see who was approaching. Judging by the look on their faces he decided that he and Emma must look awful because both their expressions fell at the sight of them.

"Where's Marcus?" Danny asked.

"He and Reggie went into the recovery room to see Viv," Jack replied in a concerned tone.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Sam asked anxiously; a worried look on her face.

The entire elevator ride up he tried to think of how to say what he had to say but nothing seemed adequate. So he finally decided to just tell them the way Emma told him. He cleared his throat and said, "The heart that Viv received, it was Ruby's."

"Ruby's?" Jack asked while Sam just stood there looking stunned.

"She was killed last night in a car accident," Danny said; his voice creaky and strained.

Jack sat down in a chair and brought both his hands to his face. "What about Martin?"

"He's okay. He was a little banged up but the hospital released him." He replied as he looked over at Sam. She just stood there looking like she wasn't really listening anymore.

"Sam?" Emma asked as she stepped forward and touched her shoulder. "You okay."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm just….." Sam said with tears brimming in her eyes she looked at Danny. "Have you talked to Martin yet? How is he?"

"I haven't talked to him. I thought maybe he needed some time," he replied. He honestly had no idea how Martin would cope with such a devastatingly loss.

Sam nodded her head before moving to sit down. She held one hand to her face and stared at a magazine on the coffee table but not really looking. Danny knew that while she was having a hard time accepting that Martin and Ruby were getting married and starting a family she would never want something like this to happen to them.

"This is going to be very difficult for Viv. She was already struggling with the donation to begin with but now," Jack said from his seat. "I just don't know how she is going to take it."

They all looked around at each other not knowing how Viv or Martin would be able to come to terms with what happened as well as the impact it had on all their lives.

XXXX

Sam stood next to Danny as he hailed a cab to take them home from the hospital. Jack stayed behind to talk to Marcus and let him know what happened. They all decided that he might be the best one to share what happened since he knew Marcus and Viv best.

"Taxi!" Danny yelled with his arm in the air.

She stared at some gum stuck on the sidewalk. She still couldn't believe that Ruby was dead. While she could not deny that she sometimes hoped Ruby would fall off the planet she would never ever wish her dead; or Martin's baby. Sam could feel her heart breaking just thinking about what he must be going through right now.

"Sam?" She looked up and saw Danny standing next to a cab with the door open waiting for her expectantly. A brief image of Martin flickered through her mind but it was quickly gone as she made her way into the taxi.

As the cab made it was through the city, they were both lost in their own thoughts, staring out their windows when Danny's cell phone rang.

"Taylor," Danny answered. "Yes, we heard what happened. I am so sorry. How is Martin doing? Help with what? No, she is with me. Of course we can go. I'll call you as soon as I know."

Sam eyed him curiously wondering who he was talking to when he finally hung up and turned to look at her.

"That was Victor Fitzgerald. Martin disappeared sometime during the night in his mother's Mercedes." Danny put the phone back in his pocket. "He disabled the OnStar but they think he might come home to New York."

"Okay, then let's go check it out." Sam leaned forward and gave their cab driver Martin's address.


	38. Chapter 38

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_There's no time to lose, I heard her say  
Catch your dreams before they slip away  
Dying all the time  
Lose your dreams  
And you will lose your mind.  
Ain't life unkind?_

_  
- 'Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday', The Rolling Stones_

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Chapter 38

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It had started raining on their way to Martin's apartment so they hurried out of the cab and rushed into his building. They were dripping wet as they rode the elevator up and Danny wondered what he would even say to Martin if he was there. What words do you say to someone who lost their fiancée and unborn baby in a tragic accident? 'I'm sorry' doesn't seem like enough.

Danny and Sam headed down the hall and stood in front of Martin's door unsure if they should knock or just go in. Would Martin even answer the door given his state of mind? In the end, etiquette won out and Danny knocked lightly on the door.

And not too surprisingly, Martin did not answer.

He pulled out a key and when Sam looked at him questioningly he explained, "I'm watching Milo and Martin wanted to be sure I could get in if I needed anything."

He almost joked that Martin treated that dog like it was his kid when he thought better of it.

He unlocked the door and they entered the dark, quiet apartment. The blinds were drawn closed and while the living room was empty it looked like it had been tossed. The couch cushions were disorganized and stuff was moved around in a disorderly manner. Sam walked to the kitchen and peeked inside. She turned back to Danny and shook her head indicating that he wasn't in there either. They both looked down the dark hall to the bedroom.

"I should go alone," Danny said softly to Sam. She hesitated a moment before agreeing. He thought that considering the circumstances it might be best to not have an old love comfort him on the loss of his new love.

He walked slowly down the hall and gently pushed the door open, looking inside. The room was dark and smelled like rain. The French doors were wide open letting in light. In the shadows he saw the back of Martin's head. He was sitting on the floor, propped up against the bed as he looked out at the rain pelting the city in loud, pounding drops.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's polite to knock?" Martin said; his voice sounding like coarse sandpaper.

"I did knock but you didn't answer," Danny retorted as he walked around the bed. He saw that Martin was holding a tiny brown teddy bear and looked so full of sorrow that it was hard to look at him without wanting to cry. Wordlessly Danny sat down on the floor and joined him at staring out at the rain.

There was a roll of thunder and a crack of lightening that when it flashed brightly illuminated the bedroom. It was like an invisible camera was taking a picture of one of the saddest days in Martin's life.

They sat there in silence for a long moment when Martin, still staring out the open doors, asked in a soft voice, "How is Viv?"

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat and replied, "She's good – she's in recovery."

Martin nodded his head slightly and looked at the Teddy Bear in his hand. He ran his fingers over the soft fabric, tracing the bear's ears and nose. "I came back for this." He jiggled the stuffed animal. "I bought it to give to Ruby when I visited but I guess Milo had gotten a hold of it because I couldn't find it before I left. I decided I'd just give it to her next time."

Danny gave a closer look at the toy and saw that patches of the bear's fur were matted and clumped from the dog chewing it.

"She was laughing," Martin said. "Ruby was laughing when…. We were arguing about names for the baby and I said since we couldn't agree on one we might as well name the baby 'First.' Apparently she thought it was funny because she laughed. I was watching her laugh and she told me to stop looking at her and pay attention to my driving because the light had turned green. 'Green means go' she said. So I turned to face the street and rolled into the intersection when some teenager who thought he could beat the red light…." Tears started down his face and he bit his lip until it was white. He wiped the tears away from his face and nose and took a deep breath.

Danny remained silent and just let Martin grieve and talk.

"You know that phrase, 'Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it'?" He asked and Danny nodded his head trying to follow Martin's non-linear one-sided conversation. "When the doctor's told us that Ruby was dead and asked us about organ donation all I could think about was something Viv said. I had told her that I was praying that she would get a new heart and she said, 'It was tough to pray for a heart transplant because someone has to die so you can live.' Ironic isn't it? I never thought that the heart Viv would get would be…." He couldn't finish so he just covered his face in his hands and sobbed. "I almost had it Danny. I almost had my own family."

Danny reached over and grabbed him tightly much like he did when it was Rafi who broke down in his arms. After all they had been through he considered Martin to be as close as a brother and right now his brother needed him.


	39. Chapter 39

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"_Too many of us stay walled in because we are afraid of being hurt. We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care as much or not at all."- Eleanor Roosevelt_

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Chapter 39

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Sam pulled open the blinds to let in some light as well as see if the rain was showing any signs of letting up. She looked out at the drenched city and thought it was the perfect weather for a day like today. She turned around and started straightening up the living room needing something to do so she wouldn't stand at the bedroom door and eavesdrop on Martin and Danny's conversation.

She pushed the sofa cushions back into place and picked up the magazines and stacked them on the coffee table. She slumped back into the sofa and looked towards the bedroom. She wanted to go in there and make sure for herself that Martin was okay. It pained her to know that he was hurting, even if he was grieving for someone she did not like she would take his anguish and make it her own if she could.

She turned her gaze out the window and recalled a conversation she had with Martin on this very sofa. It was the first night that she visited his apartment. It was the talk that made her realize just how much he had invested in her but at the time she didn't appreciate how precious that was.

XXX

_Sam had almost forgotten how nice making out could be and Martin was certainly a very nice kisser. She enjoyed just being close with someone and sharing slow languid kisses with gentle caresses. Most of her experiences before Martin involved heavy petting but were usually the means to an end. While the end was usually highly enjoyable it was also nice to just take time getting there. _

_She slowly pulled away so they could catch their breath. She had to admit that she loved the way Martin looked at her when they kissed. He made her feel like she was the most gorgeous woman in the world. But more than that, he also made her feel special, like he could see into her soul and thought it was just as beautiful. _

_She leaned into Martin as he sat back on the sofa. It was amazing how perfectly her head fit in that nook between his shoulder and neck. She gentle played with the collar on his shirt. "Can I ask you a question?"_

"_Of course," he replied as he ran her hair through his fingers. It was still hard getting used to dating someone who was so honest and direct. He never tried to conceal who he was with her and while it was refreshing it made her a little uncomfortable to think he might expect the same from her._

"_Why did you agree to the cab ride?"_

_He smirked and said, "You mean besides the obvious?" _

"_I'm serious. I mean it was a big risk to take, we were friends and we work together," She explained shifting so she could see his face. "Why did you chance it when there were no guarantees and everything could have gone so badly?" _

"_I could ask you the same thing," he replied as he looked back at her. _

_Sam couldn't help but smile and shake her head. "Nu-uh, I asked you first." _

"_Okay, well, I actually did it for the reasons you mentioned. You were, or rather, are my friend. I knew I could trust you and that you would not have invited me if you weren't serious about what you were doing, that it wouldn't just be a one night stand. If that's all you wanted you could go anywhere and find that. You knew how I felt about you. I think I was pretty clear. You wouldn't ask me knowing that you could hurt me if sex was all you were looking for." Martin slowly ran his hand up and down her arm. "And I also knew that you would not get involved with someone else from work if you didn't think it was worth it; especially someone on the same team."_

"_Did you really think about all of that in those three seconds between my asking if you want to share a cab and you sliding into the seat?" Sam asked in disbelief._

"_Well, no." Martin grinned devilishly. He blushed and added, "Let's just say I spent many nights thinking about how I could convince you to take a chance on me." _

"_Really?" Sam murmured as she leaned in closer so she could look deep into Martin's ocean blue eyes. _

"_Really," Martin replied. "I know the risks as well as you do. But so far," he lowered his head and kissed her. "It has been completely worth it."_

_Sam kissed him back and tried to quell that voice in the back of her head that told her that he gave her far too much credit but she would aim to prove that she truly was worth the risk. _

End Book V

To be continued in Book VI


End file.
